SIR World Languages Investigation Abstract
DISCOVERING LANGUAGE PROCESSING PATHWAYS IN THE HUMAN BRAIN
Presenter:
Nida Faheem, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Advisor:
Dr. Vernon Towle, University of Chicago
Abstract:
The ability to communicate through abstract spoken language is one of our species' greatest achievements. Within the brain, two primary areas have historically been identified in the left hemisphere for their involvement in analyzing and producing spoken language: Wernicke and Broca's areas. Though a functional link between the two is obvious, the specific white matter pathways underlying language processing are not well described. With the use of electroencephalography (EEG) we are able to map patients' brain waves during various language tests. Then, overlaying that data on a CT brain scan, we can produce an image that shows the location of electrical activity and the brain wave frequencies employed at that moment. Our goal is to provide a supporting representation of what, until now, has only been a supposed diagram of the functional pathway during language processing. Language data shows electrical activity, though at lower frequencies than expected, around Wernicke and Broca's areas. Tracking this activity as a function of time, we hope see the path through which areas of peak activity progress through the left hemisphere during a specific language test in patients, and from these establish a functional model of language in the human brain. However, further testing and analysis needs to be done in order to attain conclusive results. Although the biological basis of language is not yet fully been understood, with innovative approaches to language analysis, we hope to better understand this uniquely human ability.