Transcription
Welcome to this course dedicated to language applied to Neuroscience. The study of language is fundamental because it is at the basis of human civilization. Its complex form, which transmits information, emotions, and concepts, is unique to human beings.
First of all, does language mean the same thing as communication? No, because while language is part of communication, we don't necessarily need it to communicate. For example, plants and animals communicate without language. Language is a communication system through which we transmit our opinions and emotions and structure our thoughts. Communication is broader. It encompasses all forms of interaction between individuals: tactile, olfactory, visual, chemical, or acoustic. It is precisely through communication in general, and not language in particular, that we are able to socialize.
Let's discover the physiology of language. The brain and the phonet system are the basis of oral language. Our phonet system is specific to humans. It is like a musical instrument. Thanks to the vocal cords, the larynx, and the FX, the tongue, teeth, and lips modulate sounds. But these are not the only body parts involved. The position of the hyoid bone influences oral expression, including phonation and breathing. As for the style, a glossus muscle, its immaturity in early years limits the pronunciation of certain letters in young children. While these organs produce sound, the brain manages language processing, elaboration, comprehension, and production of words.
It is possible to diagnose language-related pathologies thanks to the neuros pychology of language. This science is concerned with neural structures and includes phology, semantics, phonetics, pragmatics, morphology, and syntax. Indeed, these components can be affected by disorders. Language neurosc also studies cognitive aspects, including modularity, a complex information processing system; fractionation, which allows certain brain areas to function independently despite injuries; transparency, showing that performance results from multiple brain areas.
Now let's take a look at the development of spoken language. During the pre-linguistic phase, which begins at birth, the baby is interested in sounds and their parents' voices. They quickly learn to differentiate phones and to diversify their own sounds, recognizable by their parents. From the end of the second month, the baby reproduces the noises that they like. They also participate in conversations through their babbling. Regardless of the language, the first syllables are spoken at around 6-8 months. The baby has understood that language is a way to get what they want. They mimic the rhythm and intonation of words. They adapt their babbling to their native language and could learn to engage with a foreign language within a few weeks.
At around one-year-old, the baby forms their first words. At around a year and a half, they form complete sentences and enrich their vocabulary with the famous "no." The language phase begins from 12 months onwards. The most remarkable is the child's acquisition of their mother tongue, allowing them to communicate fluently by the age of three, as well as to assert their individuality.
Mastering the written language, that is reading and writing, requires three elements: outside help, traditionally one of the roles of the school; the decoding of the information contained in a text, which takes place in five phases: literacy, mastery of the alphabetic code, the logographic stage, that is the deciphering of words and then of sentences, the alphabetical phase, and the launch of the orthographic phase, where the child gradually learns to move from a phonological interpretation to an orthographic representation; the understanding of information influenced by the sociocultural environment. The more a child is encouraged to read, the faster their progress will be.
As part of this Neuroscience training, let's focus on psycholinguistics. This field is based on several pillars, including both language skills and linguistic analysis. For example, to understand a sentence, you must first understand the words and phonm as they are spoken. You also have to know how to break down a speech into sentences. What's more, a missing word or a strong accent can make comprehension more challenging. However, thanks to context, a good command of the language, and non-verbal communication, the brain picks up information.
Language disorders are a major obstacle. There is a difference between expressive language disorders, which affect the formulation of ideas, and receptive language disorders, which affect comprehension, and disorders that are both expressive and receptive. These difficulties can have physiological and genetic origins (for example, boys are 3 to 5 times more affected than girls), as well as psychological origins (such as in utero stress) or environmental origins (such as parental violence). Finally, it is important to distinguish between written and oral language disorders. For written language, these include dyslexia, dis orthograph, disc calcula, and disg graphia. For oral language, these include aphasia, stuttering, articulation disorders, and dysphasia.
I invite you to consult your course material, which presents the symptoms associated with each disorder. Treatment will depend on age, the speed of diagnosis, and the type of disorder. However, there is one thing in common: music is always used as part of the treatment because music and language are processed in the same way by the brain.
But communication goes beyond language. It includes all forms of interaction, such as social psychology. Effective communication is two-way, precise, and expresses feelings with kindness to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts. Several factors influence communication: the relationships between people, the number of talkers, the type (written, oral, visual, or gestural), and the character (informal, professional, etc.). You should also know that only 7% of oral communication is based on words. The rest depends on intonation, facial expressions, and body language.
Let's also differentiate between visual communication, which is essentially cultural (with, for example, color symbolism), and gestural communication, which is more universal (for example, crying indicates distress). Finally, written communication, which is subject to various interpretations, is the most complex and requires a certain rigor to avoid misunderstanding.
Understanding, we use language all our lives. Learning a foreign language is also a great way to interact. Having study goals and interacting regularly with native speakers ensures successful learning. In the next video, we will talk about the expression and perception of emotions, other key elements of communication. See you soon.