Electrophysiological Evidence for Sentence Comprehension - Wings

1.2.2. Neurolinguistic models
Neurolinguistic models identify the brain circuits that carry on linguistic computations
and define time course of linguistic processes. They also try to define the role of other
cognitive functions, for example memory or attention in the linguistic processes. They
rely on brain imaging and lesion studies more than on behavioral data.
Declarative/procedural model. A model that accounts for all three issues mentioned in
the previous paragraph is Declarative/procedural (DP) model proposed by Michael
Ullman (Ullman, 2004). Obviously, the model views the organization of language in the
brain as analogous to the organization of memory. The DP model claims that mental
lexicon depends on the temporal-lobe substrates of declarative memory while mental
grammar depends on a structure that includes frontal areas, basal ganglia, parietal and
cerebellar areas that are involved in procedural memory. Ullman claims that a…
…reasonable research program would thus be to identify domains that share
commonalities with language: their underlying neural and computational systems
will be promising candidates for those subserving language (Ullman, 2004:232).
The memory is the promising candidate. Since it is better understood than language, it is
possible to make clear predictions about various aspects of language processing based
only on non-language theories and data.
For example, if the brain system that underlies memory also underlies language, it can be
predicted that the word knowledge would resemble the knowledge about facts: this
knowledge will be acquired fast, probably based only on one exposure, while the
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