Introduction and Course Outline
"If the brain were simple enought for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it."
Introduction to the Course
This course explores the neurological basis of our ability to speak,
understand speech, learn languages, and read and write. We seek to learn
what the information is that makes these processes possible, how it
is acquired, and how it is represented in the brain.
We draw upon evidence from linguistics, aphasiology, and cognitive
neuroscience.
From linguistics
we get data on the kinds of information our linguistic systems are
capable of producing and comprehending —
phonological, grammatical, semantic, etc.
Neurolinguistics has both a larger scale and a microscopic scale:
(1) At the larger scale, the systems level, we are
concerned with identification and localization of different linguistic
functions in
particular parts of the cortex and the interconnections among the various
subsystems which support their interactions.
(2) At the microscopic level, we would like to know how the elements of
the cognitive network are
implemented by neural structures and their interconnections.
In the past, the field of neurolinguistics has concerned itself
almost
entirely just with the larger scale, the systems level. But we are now
gaining the knowledge and boldness to explore the microscopic level.
At the larger scale, neurolinguistics relies heavily on evidence from
aphasiology, the branch of neurology that investigates impairments of
language ability resulting from damage to the brain, for example as a
result of a stroke. Some patients can't speak but they can understand;
others can't understand but they can speak, although their speech doesn't
make much sense; and these two types of patients have damage in different
parts of the left cerebral hemisphere. These are two of several types of
aphasia. Aphasiology can tell us a lot about where various
functions are being carried out, though its findings remain inconclusive
and puzzling about the details.
We will devote attention to this classical method of investigation in
neurolinguistics and will also look at other sources of evidence,
including (1)
intraoperative mapping and (2) functional brain imaging.
We are learning many interesting things from these techniques,
although they can sometimes be misleading.
All of these techniques, including aphasiology, entail difficult problems
of interpretation, especially
since the work of any local brain area is always just a part of a complex
interactive process in which it is working in harmony with others: The
brain is always doing many things at once, and even
seemingly simple kinds of information tend to be highly distributed.
Schedule
The first week will provide an introduction to brain anatomy and neurons.
There will then be
a few weeks devoted to the larger scale, mostly aphasiology. In the
second half of the course we will consider the microscopic level and the
fascinating question of how linguistic (and other) information is
represented in the brain.
For details, see the list of readings
and the course schedule
Components of the Learning Experience
Readings
Assigned readings will be available in the course packet. See the
list of readings.
Copies of the
course packet may be obtained from Rita Riley, linguistics department
coordinator, in 212 Herring Hall.
The Language
and Brain website, at www.rice.edu/langbrain, contains additional
information that may be of interest.
Classroom Participation and Email Reaction
You are encouraged
to raise questions in class, to participate actively in discussions,
and to suggest alternative interpretations of findings and alternative
explanations for cases and problems we will work on.
You are especially
encouraged to ask questions by email to the instructor at any time
(lamb@rice.edu), like
when the question comes up as you are reading, or in reaction to
something that happened in class. At least one
email for the first part of the course and one for the second
will be expected. More than one will be welcome.
Questions will also be
welcome in class or written out to be handed in during class periods.
Quizzes
There will be several short
quizzes (five or ten minutes each), not necessarily pre-announced. They
will be given at the start of the class meeting. The first one, covering
material of the first week, will be given on Tuesday,
September 5th.
Exam
One exam will be held, on Tuesday, November 21st.
Term Project
Early in the semester,
each student should select a problem to work on as a term project.
These term projects constitute a very important part of the course. See
the list of suggested projects. You may select
something that is not on this list if you get the approval of the
instructor. Every student should consult with the instructor
early in the semester, to identify a project that suits his/her
interests and background. Also, scheduling of oral reports (see
below) will
occur during these consultations. Picking a project early in the semester
provides the opportunity to devote several weeks to thinking about it.
Your aim will be to bring up findings or proposals that cast new
light on the exploration being undertaken in this class. In some cases
you may want to criticize some of the material selected for study.
At the end of the
semester you will summarize your findings in an oral report to the
class and in a written report of about
ten to twenty pages (with wide margins). The written papers will be due
at the end of the exam period. Alternatively, you may present your report
in the form of a web page. Good reports may be added (after editing) to
the language and brain web
page, at www.rice.edu/langbrain.
As an alternative
to this type of project, a student with programming skills may want to
do a project in Java or other web-oriented format, producing a web page
for addition to the langbrain website.
Basis for Grading
| Classroom participation and email reactions | 20% |
| Quizzes | 20% |
| Exam | 30% |
| Term Project | 30% |
Any student with a disability requiring accommodation
in this course is encouraged to contact me after class or during office
hours. Such students should also contact Disability Support Services in
the Ley Student Center.
Home Page for the Course
Readings
Schedule
Class Notes
Suggested Projects
Language and Brain Website
The page last updated 23 Aug 2006.
© 2000-06 Rice University. This
document, or portions of it, may be used for
non-commercial informational purposes.