How the Brain Evolved LanguageHow can an infinite number of sentences be generated from one human mind? How did language evolve in apes? In this book Donald Loritz addresses these and other fundamental and vexing questions about language, cognition, and the human brain. He starts by tracing how evolution and natural adaptation selected certain features of the brain to perform communication functions, then shows how those features developed into designs for human language. The result -- what Loritz calls an adaptive grammar -- gives a unified explanation of language in the brain and contradicts directly (and controversially) the theory of innateness proposed by, among others, Chomsky and Pinker. |
Contents
3 | |
Joness Theory of Evolution | 21 |
The Communicating Cell | 36 |
The Society of Brain | 52 |
Adaptive Resonance | 74 |
Speech and Hearing | 90 |
Speech Perception | 109 |
One Two Three | 123 |
Romiet and Juleo | 133 |
Null Movement | 143 |
Truth and Consequences | 161 |
What If Language Is Learned by Brain Cells? | 171 |
Notes | 195 |
203 | |
219 | |
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Common terms and phrases
activated adaptive grammar arcuate fasciculus auditory axon collaterals behavior Broca’s area cell body cerebellar cerebellum cerebral cerebrum chapter child Chomsky Chomsky’s cochlea cochlear nucleus cognitive com con cortex dendrites deperseverated depolarization develop dipole dipole rebounds disorders dyslexia English equation evolved example excitatory feedback figure formant frequency Grossberg gyrus hemisphere hippocampus Homo loquens human inferior colliculus inhibition inhibitory cells input Juliet lan language later learning linguistic lobe long-term memory medial geniculate nucleus membrane minimal anatomies molecules morphemes motor plan neocortex nerve neural neurons neurotransmitter nodes normal offbeat on-center off-surround anatomy organization output pathways patterns Peirce phonemic polypole postsynaptic pro problem pyramidal cells receptors Reprinted by permission resonance rhythm self-similar semantic sentences serial signals sound speech spike spoonerisms structure subnetwork syllables synapse thalamus theory tion tive tonotopic topic gradient Tourette syndrome verb vocal tract voiced vowel Wernicke’s area words