Grasping metaphors: UC San Diego research ties brain area to figures of speech
What does it take to fathom a proverb ?catch the figurative meaning of "an apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? According to research led by V. S. Ramachandran, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, a region of the brain known as the angular gyrus is probably at least partly responsible for the human ability to understand metaphor.</p...New research puts a fresh spin on current thinking of speech evolution in humans
A study, published today in the prestigious journal Nature by Dr. Michael Petrides and colleagues at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at McGill University, challenges current thinking that speech developed as a result of new structures that evolved in the human brain. Dr. Petrides and colleagues have identified a distinct brain region that controls jaw movements in macaque monkeys that i...With cochlear implants, earlier use leads to better speech
"Bye-bye, bye-bye," said one 3 and a half-year old child, born deaf but with a cochlear implant that partially restored hearing nine months earlier. That's the most complex speech the child uttered during a testing session that involved play with a toy train set. In contrast, a child of the same age who had a cochlear implant 31 months earlier made more sophisticated statements: "OK, now...Sensory feedback during speech: The brain attunes to more than just sound
Using robotics to manipulate the brain's perception of jaw movement while words are spoken, researchers have deepened our understanding of the importance of non-auditory sensory cues in the brain's control of speech. The findings are reported by Sazzad Nasir and David Ostry of McGill University and appear in the October 10th issue of the journal Current Biology, published by Cell Press. W...Baby Talk Better Than Adult Speech
The way you talk to your baby may be more than just cute -- scientists say it could be helping the youngster master the language.There has been some controversy swirling around about whether baby talk is good for your little one.// Some have suggested that normal grownup talk is actually better for infants' speech development.So, University of Washington in Seattle researchers took one step towar...Possibility Of Regaining Speech After Tongue, Voice Box Removal
The technique, called a tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP), is an incision between the trachea and esophagus that is then fitted with a small plastic //or silicone valve , researchers say this new surgical technique may help restore speech to head and neck cancer patients who have had their voice box and tongue removed. Researchers say that TEP, combined with post operative speech rehabili...Silicone Rubber Flap Restore Speech
Marein van der Torn and his colleagues at the Vrije University in Amsterdam in collaboration with the University of Groningen developed a new mechanism for vocal sound. // Usually in case of throat cancer the larynx or the voice box as it is called has to be surgically removed. The patients after this surgery find it very difficult to talk with the rubber silicone artificia...Earlier the Cochlear Implants Used Better the Speech
Researchers have concluded that earlier a deaf child receives cochlear implants better will be his or her spoken language skills, sentence formation and use of words//. When a 3? year-old child, born as deaf but used cochlear implants, able to hear partially in nine months earlier, the right time to make use of it. In contrast, a child of the same age who had a cochlear implan...Toddlers' Delayed Speech not Due to Parenting Faults
Late speech in toddlers should not be blamed on family environment, mother's education, income or parenting style, says a study// that would come as a reassurance to many parents. Professor Mabel Rice at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Australia, in partnership with Curtin University of Technology and other researchers analysed the speech development of 1,766 childr...