Author Question: What sources of information have formed the basis for our understanding of the physiology of ... (Read 46 times)

charchew · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

What sources of information have formed the basis for our understanding of the physiology of language?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Define what is meant by pure alexia and explain how this syndrome relates to pure word deafness.

What will be an ideal response?

eliasc0401 · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: The most common source is the study of persons who have experienced brain lesions caused by stroke or accidental brain damage. Language mechanisms can be studied using electrical stimulation of brain tissue accomplished using depth electrodes under local anesthesia for seizure patients. Functional imaging devices allow for the study of language processes in normal and brain-damaged persons.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: Pure alexia involves the loss of the ability to read, but not the ability to recognize words that are spelled out to them. Pure alexia is produced by damage to the brain that prevents visual information from reaching the extrastriate cortex of the left hemisphere. The syndrome is similar to that of pure word deafness, in which a patient cannot recognize words that are conveyed by audition.