This is a book about speech and language. It is primarily intended for those interested in speech and its neurophysiological bases: phoneticians, linguists, educators, speech therapists, psychologists, and neuroscientists. Although speech and language are its central topic, it provides information about related topics as well (e.g. structure and functioning of the central nervous system, research methods in neuroscience, theories and models of speech production and perception, learning, and memory). Data on clinical populations are given in parallel with studies of healthy subjects because such comparisons can give a better understanding of intact and disordered speech and language functions.
There is a review of literature (more than 600 sources) and research results covering areas such as neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, development of the nervous system, sex differences, history of neurolinguistics, behavioral, neuroimaging and other research methods in neuroscience, linguistics and psychology, theories and models of the nervous system function including speech and language processing, kinds of memory and learning and their neural substrates, critical periods, various aspects of normal speech and language processes (e.g. phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, reading), bilingualism, speech and language disorders, and many others.
Newcomers to the field of neurolinguistics will find it as readable as professionals will because it is organized in a way that gives the readers flexibility and an individual approach to the text. The language is simple but all the technical terms are provided, explained, and illustrated. A comprehensive glossary provides additional information.
Table of Contents:
Preface. R.D. Kent, Foreword. Introduction. 1. Central Nervous System. 2. Sex Differences. 3. Brief History of Neurolinguistics - From the Beginnings to the 20th Century. 4. Research Methods. 5. The Central Nervous System: Principles, Theories, and Models of Structure, Development, and Functioning Principles. 6. Lateralization and Localization of Functions. 7. Learning and Memory. 8. Speech and Language.
Review :
"Newcomers to the field of neurolinguistics will find this book readable. A notably appealing aspect of this book is that it is organised in a way that gives the reader a flexible and individual approach to the text. Each chapter stands for itself such that it may be read without having to refer to the other chapters. The language is kept simple but all the technical terms are provided, explained, and illustrated, and a comprehensive glossary provides additional information." - Prof. Dr. Lutz Jancke, University of Zurich, Switzerland, in Laterality
"Newcomers to the field of neurolinguistics will find this book readable. A notably appealing aspect of this book is that it is organised in a way that gives the reader a flexible and individual approach to the text. Each chapter stands for itself such that it may be read without having to refer to the other chapters. The language is kept simple but all the technical terms are provided, explained, and illustrated, and a comprehensive glossary provides additional information." - Prof. Dr. Lutz Jancke, University of Zurich, Switzerland, in Laterality
"The Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Communication...provides a comprehensive meta-analysis of the current findings in the areas of cognitive neuroscience and communication... For those interested in developing novel neuroscience methods and advancing speech and language research, this book serves as a foundation for understanding the present literature." - George M. Zinkhan & Jenna M. Drenten, in PsycCRITIQUES
"This excellent multidisciplinary book can serve as a reference, a state-of-the art review, or as a source of new information on human communication and the brain." - Dana F. Boatman, in The Phonetician
