How can we examine if there is a critical period for language development?
1. we can examine the degree of recovery following a brain injury 2. we can examine language attainment as a function of the age at which language input was first encountered
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Evidence of critical period from brain injury
1. focal lesions: children with focal lesions in the left hemisphere display normal/ near normal language abilities (Bates 1999) 2. removal of left hemisphere: language abilities will recover if the surgery is performed during childhood
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Evidence of critical period from brain injury
3. aphasia: adults with damage to the left language-processing area
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Evidence of critical period from language deprivation
these cases are rare, and hard to interpret and could be influenced by exposure to abuse
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Where is a 2nd language processed?
early in life: left hemisphere later in life: mixed results
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What happens to neural plasticity as a result of learning a ind language?
reduced gradually, with new abilities competing for access to functionally specified neural networks
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How does neural commitment work in early language deprivation?
if early neural commitment to language does not take place, the relevant areas may become committed to processing other types of information
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
Evidence of critical period from brain injury
Back
1. focal lesions: children with focal lesions in the left hemisphere display normal/ near normal language abilities (Bates 1999) 2. removal of left hemisphere: language abilities will recover if the surgery is performed during childhood
Card 3
Front
Evidence of critical period from brain injury
Back
Card 4
Front
Evidence of critical period from language deprivation
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