Rosselli Mónica, Ardila Alfredo, Matute Esmeralda, Vélez-Uribe Idaly
Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 3200 College Avenue, Davie, FL 33314, USA.
Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
Neurosci J. 2014;2014:585237. doi: 10.1155/2014/585237. Epub 2014 Dec 18.
Language development has been correlated with specific changes in brain development. The aim of this paper is to analyze the linguistic-brain associations that occur from birth through senescence. Findings from the neuropsychological and neuroimaging literature are reviewed, and the relationship of language changes observable in human development and the corresponding brain maturation processes across age groups are examined. Two major dimensions of language development are highlighted: naming (considered a major measure of lexical knowledge) and verbal fluency (regarded as a major measure of language production ability). Developmental changes in the brain lateralization of language are discussed, emphasizing that in early life there is an increase in functional brain asymmetry for language, but that this asymmetry changes over time, and that changes in the volume of gray and white matter are age-sensitive. The effects of certain specific variables, such as gender, level of education, and bilingualism are also analyzed. General conclusions are presented and directions for future research are suggested.
语言发展与大脑发育的特定变化相关。本文旨在分析从出生到衰老过程中发生的语言与大脑的关联。回顾了神经心理学和神经影像学文献的研究结果，并考察了在人类发展过程中可观察到的语言变化与各年龄组相应大脑成熟过程之间的关系。突出了语言发展的两个主要维度：命名（被视为词汇知识的主要衡量指标）和言语流畅性（被视为语言生成能力的主要衡量指标）。讨论了语言大脑侧化的发育变化，强调在生命早期，大脑对语言的功能不对称性会增加，但这种不对称性会随时间变化，并且灰质和白质体积的变化对年龄敏感。还分析了某些特定变量的影响，如性别、教育水平和双语现象。给出了总体结论并提出了未来研究的方向。
