Where are they? The neural systems underlying the language of space
Abstract
While spatial language has been a popular topic of study within cognitive linguistics for some time, work regarding the neural underpinnings thereof has been relatively sparse. Within this general topic, this thesis examines the following specific issues: (1) what neural systems are egaged by categorical spatial relations of the type that are encoded by English locative prepositions, (2) which areas of the brain are necessary for the representation of categorical spatial language, and (3) what neural systems are important for mediating between continuous sensory information and discrete linguistic representations? These issues were investigated using the complementary methods of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral testing in patients with focal brain damage. With regard to the latter, voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) was employed to maximize the brain-behavior inferences that could be generated from the data set. With regard to the issues of interest, we found that (1) neural systems in the left inferior parietal lobe play an essential role in the processing of categorical spatial relations, (2) perisylvian areas within both hemispheres contribute to the representation of categorical spatial information for language, and (3) schematic spatial representations may be instantiated within right perisylvian areas. ^
Subject Area
Language, Linguistics|Biology, Neuroscience|Psychology, Cognitive
Recommended Citation
Prin X Amorapanth,
"Where are they? The neural systems underlying the language of space"
(January 1, 2007).
Dissertations available from ProQuest.
Paper AAI3292003.
http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3292003
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