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How Does Early Brain Organization Promote Language Acquisition in Humans?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

G. Dehaene-Lambertz ,
L. Hertz-Pannier ,
J. Dubois  and
S. Dehaene
G. Dehaene-Lambertz*
Affiliation:
INSERM; U562, France AP-HP; Service de Neurologie Pédiatrique, CHU Kremlin Bicêtre, France IFR49, Orsay, France
L. Hertz-Pannier
Affiliation:
IFR49, Orsay, France CEA, Laboratoire de recherche biomédicale, CEA/SAC/DSV/I2BM/NeuroSpin, Saclay, France
J. Dubois
Affiliation:
CEA, Laboratoire de recherche biomédicale, CEA/SAC/DSV/I2BM/NeuroSpin, Saclay, France INSERM; U663, Université Paris 5, Paris, France
S. Dehaene
Affiliation:
INSERM; U562, France IFR49, Orsay, France
*
E-mail: ghislaine.dehaene@cea.fr
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Abstract

Speech processing in adults relies on precise and specialized networks, located primarily in the left hemisphere. Behavioural studies in infants indicate that a considerable amount of language learning already takes place in the first year of life in the domains of phonology, prosody, and word segmentation. Thanks to the progress of neuro-imaging, we can move beyond behavioural methods and examine how the infant’s brain processes verbal stimuli before learning. These studies reveal a structural and functional organization close to what is described in adults and suggest a strong bias for speech processing in these regions that might guide infants in the discovery of the properties of their native language, although no evidence can be provided as yet for speech specificity of such networks.

Type
Focus: The Origin of Language
Information
European Review , Volume 16 , Issue 4 , October 2008 , pp. 399 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © Academia Europaea 2008

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