Lingformant

Brain Waves Aid Study of Language Impairment

Vili Maunula — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:04:45 +0000

By looking at how the brain responds to different aspects of grammar, specifically nouns and verbs, researchers at the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders are hoping to provide a better understanding of the nature of language disorders in children.

Full article: University of Texas at Dallas

Decoding the long calls of the orangutan

Vili Maunula — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:02:15 +0000

Research into the long calls of male Orangutans in Borneo has given scientists new insight into how these solitary apes communicate through dense jungle. An acoustic analysis of the calls, published today in Ethology, reveals that the calls not only serve to attract females, but also contain information on the identity and the context of the caller.

Full text: EurekAlert

Music and lyrics: How the brain splits songs

Vili Maunula — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:00:29 +0000

Your favourite song comes on the radio. You hum the tune; the lyrics remind you of someone you know. Is your brain processing the words and music separately or as one? It’s a hotly debated question that may finally have an answer.

Full article: New Scientist

Stone Age Engravings Found on Ostrich Shells

Vili Maunula — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:57:48 +0000

Researchers say a cache of ostrich eggshells engraved with geometric designs demonstrates the existence of a symbolic communication system around 60,000 years ago among African hunter-gatherers.

Full article: Wired

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/stone-age-engravings-found-on-ostrich-shells/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

Researchers discover first genes for stuttering

Vili Maunula — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:54:20 +0000

Stuttering may be the result of a glitch in the day-to-day process by which cellular components in key regions of the brain are broken down and recycled, says a study in the Feb. 10 Online First issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, led by researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified three genes as a source of stuttering in volunteers in Pakistan, the United States, and England.

Full article: e! Science News

Researchers find how brain hears the sound of silence

Vili Maunula — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:51:47 +0000

A team of University of Oregon researchers have isolated an independent processing channel of synapses inside the brain’s auditory cortex that deals specifically with shutting off sound processing at appropriate times. Such regulation is vital for hearing and for understanding speech.

Full article: University of Oregon

All languages are created in the same brain areas

Vili Maunula — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:12:44 +0000

Be it American Sign Language or English, language is created in the same areas of the brain, claim scientists. Karen Emmorey, a professor of speech language at San Diego State University, suggests language is universal and doesn’t depend on whether people use their voices or their hands to talk.

Full article: Sify News

Infants do not appear to learn words from educational DVDs

Vili Maunula — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:58:56 +0000

Among 12- to 24-month old children who view educational baby videos, there does not appear to be evidence that overall general language learning improves or that words featured in the programming are learned.

Full article: EurekAlert

Bilingual babies: The roots of bilingualism in newborns

Vili Maunula — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:48:26 +0000

According to new findings in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, infants born to bilingual mothers (who spoke both languages regularly during pregnancy) exhibit different language preferences than infants born to mothers speaking only one language.

Full article: e! Science News

Research confirms brain link for words, music

Vili Maunula — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:42:31 +0000

Words and music, such natural partners that it seems obvious they go together. Now science is confirming that those abilities are linked in the brain, a finding that might even lead to better stroke treatments.

Full article: MSNBC

A mother’s sensitivity may help language growth in children with autism spectrum disorder

Vili Maunula — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:42:09 +0000

A new study by researchers from the University of Miami shows that maternal sensitivity may influence language development among children who go on to develop autism. Although parenting styles are not considered as a cause for autism, this report examines how early parenting can promote resiliency in this population.

Full article: EurekAlert

Tip-of-the-Tongue Moments Explained

Vili Maunula — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:40:32 +0000

It’s one of the most frustrating feelings: You know the word exists, and you know what it means, but you just can’t spit it out. New research suggests the forgetfulness may have to do with how frequently we use certain words. The findings could help scientists understand more about how the brain organizes and remembers language.

Full article: Live Science

Same Brain Spots Handle Sign Language and Speaking

Vili Maunula — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:38:46 +0000

Language is created in the same areas of the brain, regardless of whether a person speaks English or uses American Sign Language to communicate, new research found. The discovery suggests that something about language is universal and doesn’t depend on whether people use their voices or their hands to talk.

Full article: Live Science

Language Structure Is Partly Determined by Social Structure, Says Penn Psychology Study

Vili Maunula — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:09:01 +0000

Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Memphis have released a new study on linguistic evolution that challenges the prominent hypothesis for why languages differ throughout the world. The study argues that human languages may adapt more like biological organisms than previously thought and that the more common and popular the language, the simpler its construction to facilitate its survival.

Full article: University of Pennsylvania

The Neural Advantage of Speaking 2 Languages

Vili Maunula — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:04:11 +0000

A new study published in Psychological Science reveals that knowledge of a second language—even one learned in adolescence—affects how people read in their native tongue.

Full article: Scientific American