Classic Model of Language Neurobiology †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Classic Model of Language Neurobiology. Answer: Introduction: The biological basis of human behaviour refers to the extensive study of all kinds of behavioural functions that are associated with the nervous system, the brain in particular. Physical structure of the human body plays a crucial role in governing the behaviour of an individual. Hence, the biological basis of behaviour is entirely controlled by the mammalian nervous system that is a complex biological organ that enables the body to function in a coordinated manner (Nebylitsyn Gray, 2013). Cognition refers to the mental process or action that helps to acquire knowledge, followed by gaining a clear understanding of experiences, thought process, and senses. The process of cognition also involves judgment, working memory, reasoning, evaluation, problem solving, language comprehension and decision making. This essay will illustrate the mechanism of cognition that is brought about by neural communication. Thus, human cognition often analyses processes from different perspectives. The nervous system is made up of two basic types of cells: neurons and glial cells.The glial cells, outnumber neurons and have been found to provide physical and metabolic support to the neurons. These glial cells act as scaffolding system that forms the foundation of the nervous system (Dimou Gtz, 2014). These facilitate the neurons to carry out effective neuronal communication. In addition, other functions encompass providing insulation to the neurons, transporting waste products and nutrients, and mediating immune responses (Wake et al., 2013). They act as the building blocks of the nervous system and consist of three main parts namely, the cell body or cyton, dendrites and an axon. Synapse refers to specialized junctions located at the end of nervous cells that facilitate communication with adjacent neurons. Synapse encompasses the axon terminals of a neuron, which release neurotransmitters in response to specific impulse (Hruska Dalva, 2012). Neurotransmitter or endogenous che micals facilitate neurotransmission. The neurotransmitters are responsible for transmitting signals across the chemical synapses at the neuromuscular junction. Most common neurotransmitters are classified into a range of categories such as, amino acids, monoamines, trace amines, purines and peptides (Deutch, 2014). Transmission of nerve impulse along one neuron to the adjacent one occurs due to several electrical changes across the semi permeable membrane. Arrival of a stimulus leads to the development of an action potential that brings about a response. Parts of the brain involved in behaviour The amygdala contains two almond shaped nuclei groups that are located in the temporal lobes of the brain and control emotions. Sensory stimuli reach the amygdala basolateral complex, during emotional events, such as, fear and form connects with stimuli memories. These emotional memories are stored in the neuronal connections (Townsend et al., 2013). The hippocampus is the principle structure involved in various memory functions. It is located adjacent to the limbic system and contains cognitive maps that help an individual encode, store and retrieve memory. Thus, damage to the hippocampus and adjacent regions often lead to development of anterograde amnesia (Tanaka et al., 2014). The Brocas area and Wernickes area are regions that are responsible for processing and production of speech. Lesions in these areas result in disruption to speech production and comprehension. The areas also play an essential role in grammar, syntax processing and maintaining sentence structure (Tremblay D ick, 2016). There exist a range of cognitive processes that involve sophisticated functions that are unique to primates. Thus, cognition often involves a plethora of controlled processes One common example is the protection of information that is maintained in mind from some distracting stimuli (Gross, 2013). A major example of aneural correlate associated with specific cognitive process pertains to the sustained firing of cells that are located in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Advent offunctional MRI studies provided evidence for origin of cognitive processes from the cortical regions of thehuman brain. Neural mechanisms have evolved with the aim of allowing social interactions (Winecoff et al., 2013). One of the major achievements of humans, compared to other primates refers to their ability to reflect on their actions and memories. Learning behaviour The major neural mechanisms related to reward learning involve conducting an update of the estimated value that is related to rewards. This is brought about by prediction of error signals that are related to primary reinforces or monetary rewards. The ventral stiratum is thought responsible for reward learning. In addition, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex also helps in demonstrating behaviour that pertain to a smiling face, gaining reputation, agreement with others and obtaining experience from cooperation and fairness. Mechanisms related to orientation to different agents and faces often play a role in portrayal of behaviour that encompasses imitating other people (Steinberg et al., 2013). Social learning involves similar neural systems as found in nonsocial learning based on rewards. Several researchers have illustrated the fact that reward prediction are often represented in the ventral striatum (vSTR) of the brain (Daniel Pollmann, 2014). Investigations conducted to evaluate the mechanism of gaze following suggested that the neural basis of gaze involves a complex mechanism that gets activated or triggered upon imitating the actions observed in others. The behaviour involves several steps such as, primary recognition of the agent by the observer and its orientation towards the eyes and the face. This behaviour is presumed to be mediated by the subcortical route. The lateral interparietal area (LIP) that has often been correlated to saccade planning and attention is found to play a role in this process. The mirror neurons get fired and lead to development of an action potential, while imitating an action (Brooks Meltzoff, 2015). The process that underlies these different forms of imitation have also been associated with social neural mechanisms that are brought about by mirror neurons. Memory formation and retrieval Self-interest and coping are another major manifestation of human behaviour that are related to trial-and-error based learning process. Most commonly, the human brain is seen to avoid making errors, by retrieving memories. This forms a crucial part of the trial-and-error based learning behaviour. In addition, the human brain also modulates selective performance of certain actions that were initially found beneficial. On the other hand, memory is considered as the process that involves retention, reactivation, and reconstruction of experiences. This process of internal representation helps in categorizing memory into two components, namely, memeory expression at the behaviour level and the underpinning neural changes that accompany the process (Takeuchi, Duszkiewicz Morris, 2014). Encoding of working memory often involves spiking of a range of neurons that are triggered by sensory inputs and persist even after disappearance of the stimulus. Episodic memory encoding is found to involv e persistent changes in structures that play a role in altering synaptic transmission of nerve impulse between cells. Working memory signals originate from the medial temporal lobe. The pre-frontal cortex is found to play a role in development of long-term memory. Synaptic consolidation involves synthesis of proteins in the medial temporal lobe, subsequently followed by transformation of the memory to long term independent memory (Tonegawa et al., 2015). In addition to the hippocampus, other brain areas that are involved in memory formation are the striatum, and the amygdala. Hence, learning and memory are considered direct manifestation of changes in the neuronal synapses and are often considered mediated by long-term potentiation and depression. Attention refers to the behavioural and cognitive process that focuses on selective concentration on some discrete aspects of objective or subjective information. This is often accompanied by ignoring perceivable information. Researchers have demonstrated the fact that attention modulates the firing rate of the neuronal cells, where the receptive fields receive the stimulus. Presence of stimulus in the receptor increases the firing rate. The most common neurotransmitter that regulates attention is norepinephrine, This excitatory neurotransmitter helps in controlling stimulatory behaviour. Problems in signaling mechanism that involve dopamine and norepinephrine signaling often result in attention deficits (Wang et al., 2013). The prefrontal cortex, specifically the inferior frontal junction is responsible for controlling visual processing areas that help in providing attention, thereby facilitating recognition of several objects. The parietal cortex is believed to process attentional awareness, related to the environment and helps in representing numbers or manipulating objects (Benedek et al., 2014). Thus, spatial attention is brought about by the parietal cortex. Language refers to the way of communication of ideas and feelings and also helps in processing of such communication. The Brocas area and the Wernickes area are thought to facilitate language processing (Rogi?, Deletis Fernndez-Conejero, 2014). The Wernicke's area located between theauditory andvisual cortex is present in the posterior region of the superior temporal gyrus. On the other hand, the pars triangularis and pars opercularis located in the inferior frontal gyrus form the Brocas area. These structures help in speech production and comprehension (DeWitt Rauschecker, 2013). Firing of the mirror neurons are also thought to play a role in language formation. Conclusion To conclude, it can be stated that human behaviour results from an interaction between chemical and neural systems that work together inside the brain. Human behaviour involves interaction of both the mind and the body. 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