New clues to understanding how the brain processes language
26 May 2005
New research funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) carried out by MRC Research Professor Lorraine Tyler and Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis, of the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, has found that different aspects of language are processed by different parts of the brain. The findings could have important implications for the treatment of language problems following brain injury and stroke
The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) argues against the idea that the brain simply acts as an undifferentiated ‘whole’ that processes words in terms of their sound and meaning, but without reference to linguistic structure.
Lead scientist Professor Tyler and colleagues Dr Stamatakis and Professor William Marslen-Wilson of the MRC Brain and Cognition Sciences Unit in Cambridge, analysed the brain structure of 22 brain-damaged patients to assess their ability to process the sound, meaning, and structure of spoken words. Using a new methodology, the researchers correlated regions of the damaged brains with patients’ difficulty in processing different types of words.
The patients listened to contrasting word pairs: regular verbs that sound alike and follow predictable rules (jumped-jump), versus other word pairs related only by sound (pillow-pill). Irregular verbs that do not sound alike and follow unpredictable rules (thought-think) were contrasted with word pairs related only by meaning (card-paper).
The researchers observed that damage to different brain regions was correlated with difficulties in processing regular verbs (jumped-jump) versus similar-sounding words (pillow-pill), and irregular verbs (thought-think) versus meaning-related words (card-paper). These findings suggest that different parts of the brain are responsible for specific linguistic areas.
Lead scientist, Professor Tyler, said, "This new research helps us to understand how the language network works normally. We can now identify more precisely which language functions will be knocked out by damage in a particular area of the brain. A better understanding of how different parts of the brain support different aspects of language function has important implications for the treatment of language problems following brain injury and stroke."
For more information, details of the published scientific paper, or to arrange an interview, contact Professor Lorraine Tyler, lead scientist, on Cambridge (01223) 766457 Monday 23 May
Notes to editors
1. The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organisation funded by the UK tax-payer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work that has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC's expenditure of approximately £500 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools.
2. The University of Cambridge’s reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known worldwide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as world-class original research carried out by the staff of the University and the Colleges. As Cambridge approaches its 800th anniversary in 2009, it is looking to the future. It continues to change in response to the challenges it faces. The modern University is an international centre of teaching and research in vast range of subjects: about half of the students study science or technology. Members of the University have won over 80 Nobel Prizes. www.cam.ac.uk
3. The MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge investigates fundamental human mental processes such as attention, memory, communication and emotion. It conducts behavioural experiments to see how these processes work, builds computer models of their operation, studies how they could arise from the neural mechanisms of the brain, and explores the clinical implications for patient therapy and rehabilitation.
