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Broca's Area In Syntactic Processing

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The role of Broca’s area (left inferior frontal gyrus) in syntactic processing has been a controversial topic in neurolinguistics. It was originally thought to have been the ‘syntax area’ of the brain, however, some studies have shown otherwise. One study that has shown why Broca’s area is such a debateable topic is Stromswold et al. (1996). They conducted a study attempting to identify the area of the brain used in sentence processing, in which they looked at two conditions: centre-embedded and right-branching structures. They found that there is more brain activity in Broca’s area for centre embedding sentences. However, it was unclear whether this was due to the complexity of the syntax or due to increased memory demands.
Cooke et al. …show more content…
(1998) conducted a study to test the complexity of syntax with simple sentences and complex sentences, as well as, working memory with ambiguous sentences. The simple sentences had a canonical word order and no embedded clauses. The complex sentences contained either embedded clauses (e.g. The boy who the doctor visited had contracted pneumonia.) or complex list-like noun modifications (e.g. The long white dress). For the ambiguous sentences, the ambiguous was whether the word (e.g. train) was a verb or noun. They found that there was an effect of complexity in the left posterior middle and superior temporal gurus, and an effect of ambiguity in Broca’s area and left insula. Therefore, conflicting evidence that Broca’s area is activated by working memory rather than complexity. They argued it was something syntactic processing needed but it is not syntactic processing itself.
There is further evidence from Broca’s aphasics which shows that they perform not so well on complex syntactic constructions: passives, object relatives, and object clefts. Broca’s aphasics have lesions on their left inferior frontal gyrus, and can find it difficult to understand sentences where subjects and objects have moved from their canonical position. The Trace Deletion Hypothesis (Grodinsky, 1986) believes that Broca’s area supports movement as those who have Broca’s aphasia do not have traces. Therefore, they think that the first NP they come across is the agent of

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