The Contribution of Brain Imaging to the Study of Human Language

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Martín-Loeches
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Human Language ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThis article presents an overview of the contribution of brain imaging techniques to the study of human language by first reviewing previous historical approaches to the study of the relationships between language and the brain. A brief introduction to modern brain imaging techniques follows, thereafter describing several concrete examples of contributions of these techniques to better know the human language, as well as to vivid debates into the linguistic and the psycholinguistic disciplines. This overview finishes with a comment on the present and the future of studying language with brain imaging techniques. It is concluded that these techniques are playing an essential role in the understanding of human language.

CURRENT AND TRADITIONAL VIEWS ON THE BRAIN WORKS

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-212
Author(s):  
Bożydar L.J. Kaczmarek ◽  
Katarzyna Markiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
New Methods ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Theoretical Considerations ◽  
The Brain

The present paper argues that the development of a new methodology in studying the brain has resulted in a change of our views on the way it works, has seen the emergence of new ideas, and a considerable modification of traditionally accepted theories. The most significant are neuroplasticity, negative activity network (NAT), the nature of aphasic disorders, and the approach to the localization of brain functions. New brain imaging techniques have confirmed also the ability to change the neuronal circuits by mental force. Moreover, new techniques have brought about a rise in new methods for both the diagnosis and rehabilitation of individuals with various brain disorders. Most valuable in this respect has proved to be neurofeedback. We have concentrated on the most important contributions of Prof. Pąchalska in the implementation and development of these new ideas on brain functioning. We also emphasize the fact that her theoretical considerations are firmly based upon her extensive (forty years) work with brain damaged patients.

scholarly journals Microwave Tomography for Brain Imaging: Feasibility Assessment for Stroke Detection

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serguei Y. Semenov ◽  
Douglas R. Corfield
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Imaging Modality ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Head Model ◽  
Microwave Tomography ◽  
Feasibility Assessment ◽  
Imaging Results ◽  
High Dielectric ◽  
The Brain

There is a need for a medical imaging technology, that supplements current clinical brain imaging techniques, for the near-patient and mobile assessment of cerebral vascular disease. Microwave tomography (MWT) is a novel imaging modality that has this potential. The aim of the study was to assess the feasibility, and potential performance characteristics, of MWT for brain imaging with particular focus on stroke detection. The study was conducted using MWT computer simulations and 2D head model with stroke. A nonlinear Newton reconstruction approach was used. The MWT imaging of deep brain tissues presents a significant challenge, as the brain is an object of interest that is located inside a high dielectric contrast shield, comprising the skull and CSF. However, high performance, nonlinear MWT inversion methods produced biologically meaningful images of the brain including images of stroke. It is suggested that multifrequency MWT has the potential to significantly improve imaging results.

scholarly journals On the pursuit of the brain network for proto-syntactic learning in non-human primates: conceptual issues and neurobiological hypotheses

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1598) ◽  
pp. 2077-2088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher I. Petkov ◽  
Benjamin Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Artificial Grammar ◽  
Human Language ◽  
The Future ◽  
Neuronal Substrates ◽  
The Brain

Songbirds have become impressive neurobiological models for aspects of human verbal communication because they learn to sequence their song elements, analogous, in some ways, to how humans learn to produce spoken sequences with syntactic structure. However, mammals such as non-human primates are considered to be at best limited-vocal learners and not able to sequence their vocalizations, although some of these animals can learn certain ‘artificial grammar’ sequences. Thus, conceptual issues have slowed the progress in exploring potential neurobiological homologues to language-related processes in species that are taxonomically closely related to humans. We consider some of the conceptual issues impeding a pursuit of, as we define them, ‘proto-syntactic’ capabilities and their neuronal substrates in non-human animals. We also discuss ways to better bridge comparative behavioural and neurobiological data between humans and other animals. Finally, we propose guiding neurobiological hypotheses with which we aim to facilitate the future testing of the level of correspondence between the human brain network for syntactic-learning and related neurobiological networks present in other primates. Insights from the study of non-human primates and other mammals are likely to complement those being obtained in birds to further our knowledge of the human language-related network at the cellular level.

scholarly journals Dissonance of Selected Neuroscience Techniques at Detection of Emotions in Advertising Spots

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 969-977
Author(s):  
Katarína Neomániová ◽  
Jakub Berčík ◽  
Elena Horská
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Emotional Involvement ◽  
Emotional Appeals ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Somatic Nervous System ◽  
Interdisciplinary Study ◽  
The Brain

In addition to advanced brain imaging techniques and growing interest in the study of consumer reactions with influence of marketing stimuli a new interdisciplinary study has developed on a borderland of neuroscience, economic and psychological studies – neuromarketing. Despite a certain form of insecurity whether the brain imaging technologies provide useful information for control of marketing, more and more marketers identify with their application in conventional market research. The main aim of this contribution is to clarify the influence of a selected advertising spot on the final emotional state of consumers by researching a brain activity of respondents and activity of somatic nervous system, specifically the face expressions. Cortical brain activity was detected by 16channel wireless electroencephalograph by Epoc and changes of mimic muscles were monitored by a biometric device the Facereader by Noldus. The subject of the research is the dissonance of the selected neuroscience techniques with influence of chosen advertising emotional appeals like fear, disgust and sadness. In the end of our contribution, the way of using the neuroscience technology and psychology for detection of consumer emotional involvement of consumers is explained.

scholarly journals Diving into the brain: deep-brain imaging techniques in conscious animals

2020 ◽  
Vol 246 (2) ◽  
pp. R33-R50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Campos ◽  
Jamie J Walker ◽  
Patrice Mollard
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Hormone Secretion ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Pituitary Hormone ◽  
Conscious Animals ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Deep Brain

In most species, survival relies on the hypothalamic control of endocrine axes that regulate critical functions such as reproduction, growth, and metabolism. For decades, the complexity and inaccessibility of the hypothalamic–pituitary axis has prevented researchers from elucidating the relationship between the activity of endocrine hypothalamic neurons and pituitary hormone secretion. Indeed, the study of central control of endocrine function has been largely dominated by ‘traditional’ techniques that consist of studying in vitro or ex vivo isolated cell types without taking into account the complexity of regulatory mechanisms at the level of the brain, pituitary and periphery. Nowadays, by exploiting modern neuronal transfection and imaging techniques, it is possible to study hypothalamic neuron activity in situ, in real time, and in conscious animals. Deep-brain imaging of calcium activity can be performed through gradient-index lenses that are chronically implanted and offer a ‘window into the brain’ to image multiple neurons at single-cell resolution. With this review, we aim to highlight deep-brain imaging techniques that enable the study of neuroendocrine neurons in awake animals whilst maintaining the integrity of regulatory loops between the brain, pituitary and peripheral glands. Furthermore, to assist researchers in setting up these techniques, we discuss the equipment required and include a practical step-by-step guide to performing these deep-brain imaging studies.

scholarly journals Brain structural complexity and consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Song
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Brain Volume ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Neuronal Connections ◽  
The Brain

Structure shapes function. Understanding what is structurally special about the brain that allows it to generate consciousness remains a fundamental scientific challenge. Recently, advances in brain imaging techniques have made it possible to measure the structure of human brain, from the morphology of neurons and neuronal connections to the gross anatomy of brain regions, in-vivo and non-invasively. Using advanced brain imaging techniques, it was discovered that the structural diversity between neurons and the topology of neuronal connections, as opposed to the sheer number of neurons or neuronal connections, are key to consciousness. When the structural diversity is high and the connections follow a modular topology, neurons will become functionally differentiable and functionally integrable with one another. The high levels of differentiation and integration, in turn, enable the brain to produce the richest conscious experiences from the smallest number of neurons and neuronal connections. Consequently, across individuals, those with a smaller brain volume but a higher structural diversity tend to have richer conscious experiences than those with a larger brain volume but a lower structural diversity. Moreover, within individuals, a reduction in neuronal connections, if accompanied by an increase in structural diversity, will result in richer conscious experiences, and vice versa. These findings suggest that having a larger number of neurons and neuronal connections is not necessarily beneficial for consciousness; in contrast, an optimal brain architecture for consciousness is one where the richest conscious experiences are generated from the smallest number of neurons and neuronal connections, at the minimal cost of biological material, physical space, and metabolic energy.

scholarly journals Past, Present and Future of Fetal Brain Assessment

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-45
Author(s):  
Erich Saling ◽  
Ulrich Honemeyer
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Obstet Gynecol ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Fetal Brain ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACT The fetal brain as focus of scientific interest could not emerge before the 20th century. This was only possible after a long history of parallel advances in the fields of anatomy, physiology, pathology and imaging techniques. Some of these are presented in this article. We are providing (1) a historical overview about ‘the brain in science’ in general, (2) a historic overview about fetal brain assessment and (3) an overview of the present and reflections about the future of fetal brain assessment. How to cite this article Honemeyer U, Saling E. Past, Present and Future of Fetal Brain Assessment. Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2013;7(1):36-45.

Quenched: Five Fires for Thinking Extinction

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Jemma Deer
Keyword(s):  
Human Language ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
The Future

By the light or remains of five fires, this paper considers how the current extinction crisis might be thought in relation to the future and the past, to speed and acceleration, to ir/reversibility, and to the evolution of human language and consciousness. The thought of extinction as the extinction of thought is elaborated through engagement with J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World, Jacques Derrida's ‘No Apocalypse, Not Now’ and ‘White Mythology’, and the October 2018 IPCC report. The paper concludes by speculating upon an answer to the following questions: if we know that there will be an end to thought, what will have been the end of thought? To what end do we think at all?

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