Marslen-Wilson, W. 1, 2
1 Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, UK.
2 MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK.
I make the argument that human language and communication can only be understood in the context of their dual neurobiological substrates – a specialised left-hemisphere fronto-temporal system supporting core morpho-syntactic functions, and a more distributed bi-hemispheric ‘whole brain’ process supporting the mapping of sensory inputs onto internal representations as a basic for interpretation and action. Both substrates have their roots in the evolutionary history of our primate ancestors. At a second explanatory level, this basic neurobiological distinction provides the phylogenetic landscape within which different languages realise their specific neurocognitive systems for language and communication. Core cross-linguistic distinctions – for example, between the domains of inflectional and derivational morphology – can be reinterpreted within this dual neurobiological framework. At a third level of analysis, we come to grips with the electrophysiological patterns of neural activity underpinning these complex neurocognitive functions. These are only accessible at the necessary millisecond level of temporal resolution through combined MEG/EEG recording. Operating in MEG/EEG source space, that locates neural activity in a three-dimensional brain volume, we use searchlight-based multivariate analysis procedures to map out the specific neural processing procedures that support the primary operations of speech communication.