From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!wupost!micro-heart-of-gold.mit.edu!news.bbn.com!papaya.bbn.com!cbarber Thu Dec 26 23:57:33 EST 1991
Article 2314 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: cbarber@bbn.com (Chris Barber)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Scaled up slug brains
Message-ID: <4000@litchi.bbn.com>
Date: 20 Dec 91 17:26:29 GMT
References: <12773@pitt.UUCP> <45090@mimsy.umd.edu> <12781@pitt.UUCP> <45115@mimsy.umd.edu>
Organization: BBN Systems and Technology, Inc.
Lines: 30

In article <45115@mimsy.umd.edu> harwood@umiacs.umd.edu (David Harwood) writes:

>the neuro-linguistic activity occupies 80% of the left hemisphere,
>not localized regions only (although these are necessary, I agree).
>But the hemispheres are densely connected in normal brains, however
>the right hemisphere only shows some lesser word-meaning related
>activity -there is other evidence for this too.
[...]
>Who knows - but they are pretty clearly different hemispheres in humans,
>but not in apes. 

The point should also be made here that the hemisperic differentiation
in humans is not always the same. A small but significantly large percentage
of people have language functions localized in the right hemisphere and some
even have language function spread over both hemispheres. I believe there
is also some evidence that there is a difference in distribution when 
language is acquired later than normal.  This suggests that these areas
of language "specialization" are more likely the result of the brain adapting
to language use as opposed to their being totally prewired for language. 

Aside: Does anybody know of any studies that link variations in the
hemispheric location of language to variations in personality or language
ability?




-- 
Christopher Barber
(cbarber@bbn.com)


