Books about Subcortical from Amazon.com

Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain The Subcortical Bases of Speech, Syntax, and Thought Philip Lieberman This book is an entry into the fierce current debate among psycholinguists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary theorists about the nature and origins of human language. A prominent neuroscientist here takes up the Darwinian case, using data seldom considered by psycholinguists and neurolinguists to argue that human language--though more sophisticated than all other forms of animal communication--is not a qualitatively different ability from all forms of animal communication, does not require a quantum evolutionary leap to explain it, and is not unified in a single "language instinct." Using clinical evidence from speech-impaired patients, functional neuroimaging, and evolutionary biology to make his case, Philip Lieberman contends that human language is not a single separate module but a functional neurological system made up of many separate abilities. Language remains as it began, Lieberman argues: a device for coping with the world. But in a blow to human narcissism, he makes the case that this most remarkable human ability is a by-product of our remote reptilian ancestors' abilities to dodge hazards, seize opportunities, and live to see another day. Philip Lieberman is Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at Brown University and the author of The Biology and Evolution of Language, Uniquely Human: The Evolution of Speech, Thought, and Selfless Behavior (both from Harvard), and Eve Spoke. Perspectives in Cognitive Neuroscience: A series edited by Stephen M. Kosslyn June 61/8 x 91/4 15 line illus., 1 halftone 224 pp..
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This book provides comprehensive coverage of speech and language disorders arising from pathological processes involving the subcortical structures of the brain. It gives an understanding of these disorders in terms of their neuropathological basis, clinical symptomatology and prognosis. A full discussion of contemporary models and theories of subcortical participation in speech and language processing is given, including discussion of the possible roles of structures such as the basal ganglia, subthalamic nucleus, thalamus and cerebellum.

The book covers speech and language disorders associated with a variety of subcortical conditions, ranging from major degenerative conditions such as Parkinsons’ Disease, Huntington’s chorea and dystonia, through to acquired non-degenerative subcortical lesions arising from, for example, cerebrovascular accidents and sterotactic surgically induced lesions. In addition, a full description of the relevant assessment and treatment procedures currently recommended for use for each of the subcortical communication disorders is given.

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Clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists are traditionally taught that cognition is mediated by the cortex and that subcortical brain regions mediate the coordination of movement. However, this argument can easily be challenged based upon the anatomic organization of the brain. The relationship between the prefrontal cortex/frontal lobes and basal ganglia is characterized by loops from these anterior brain regions to the striatum, the globus pallidus, and the thalamus, and then back to the frontal cortex. There is also a cerebrocerebellar system defined by projections from the cerebral cortex to the pontine nuclei, to the cerebellar cortex and deep cerebellar nuclei, to the red nucleus and then back to thalamus and cerebral cortex, including all regions of the frontal lobes. Therefore, both the cortical-striatal and cortical-cerebellar projections are anatomically defined as re-entrant systems that are obviously in a position to influence not only motor behavior, but also cognition and affect. This represents overwhelming evidence based upon neuroanatomy alone that subcortical regions play a role in cognition. The first half of this book defines the functional neuroanatomy of cortical-subcortical circuitries and establishes that since structure is related to function, what the basal ganglia and cerebellum do for movement they also do for cognition and emotion.

The second half of the book examines neuropsychological assessment. Patients with lesions restricted to the cerebellum and/or basal ganglia have been described as exhibiting a variety of cognitive deficits on neuropsychological tests. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that higher-level cognitive functions such as attention, executive functioning, language, visuospatial processing, and learning and memory are affected by subcortical pathologies. There is also considerable evidence that the basal ganglia and cerebellum play a critical role in the regulation of affect and emotion. These brain regions are an integral part of the brain’s executive system. The ability to apply new methodologies clinically is essential in the evaluation of disorders with subcortical pathology, including various developmental disorders (broadly defined to include learning disorders and certain psychiatric conditions), for the purpose of gaining greater understanding of these conditions and developing appropriate methodologies for treatment.

The book is organized around three sources of evidence:

1. neuroanatomical connections;
2. patients with various disease processes;
3. experimental studies, including various imaging techniques.

These three sources of data present compelling evidence that the basal ganglia and cerebellum are involved in cognition, affect, and emotion. The question is no longer if these subcortical regions are involved in these processes, but instead, how they are involved. The book is also organized around two basic concepts: (1) the functional neuroanatomy of the basal ganglia and the cerebellum; and (2) how this relates to behavior and neuropsychological testing.

Cognitive neuroscience is entering a new era as we recognize the roles of subcortical structures in the modulation of cognition. The fields of neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychiatry, and neurology are all developing in the direction of understanding the roles of subcortical structures in behavior. This book is informative while defining the need and direction for new paradigms and methodologies for neuropsychological assessment.

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Limbic and subcortical brain regions mediate fundamental functions such as memory, emotion, motivation, and mood. Limbic and subcortical systems also play a key neurobiological role in other important aspects of human experience, such as substance abuse, reward systems, and religious experience. Most neuropsychiatric disorders involve dysfunction of subcortical structures or the limbic or paralimbic cortex. Dysfunction of temporolimbic systems produces some of the most dramatic and challenging syndromes in clinical medicine. A valuable contribution to the literature on limbic-subcortical systems and neuropsychiatric illness, The Neuropsychiatry of Limbic and Subcortical Disorders presents an overview of functional limbic anatomy and provides a state-of-the-art report on limbic-related syndromes. Part 1 covers the functional neuroanatomy of limbic and subcortical systems. This emphasis on neuroanatomy provides a foundation for Part 2, which focuses on the limbic system and clinical neuropsychiatric syndromes. Throughout this volume, extensive literature reviews serve as comprehensive reference sources. Many chapters include color illustrations to depict key points. The contributors are a diverse group of leading investigators with special expertise in the functional aspects of limbic and subcortical anatomy and its relationship to neuropsychiatric illness. The Neuropsychiatry of Limbic and Subcortical Disorders covers a broad range of basic and clinical material at various levels of difficulty. Thus, medical students, psychiatry and neurology residents, psychology trainees, and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in the basic and clinical neurosciences will find this collection beneficial. Experienced clinicians and researchers in these fields will also benefit from the in-depth material that may even encourage a second read..
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This digital document is a journal article from Brain and Cognition, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The Sprague effect is well-established-small tectal lesions restore visual orientation in the hemianopic field of animals with extensive unilateral geniculo-striate lesions. Studies of human midbrain visual functions are rare. This man with a midbrain tumour developed left-neglect through subsequent right frontal damage. Bilateral orientation returned after clear evidence of damage to the superior colliculus contralateral to the cortical lesion (showing the Sprague effect extends to man). Sustained right-neglect developed after probable additional damage to right superior colliculus. The regulation of spatial attention by tecto-pulvinar circuits is discussed, and it is argued that the reduced right tecto-pulvinar activity (consequent to the additional right collicular damage) was offset by over-compensatory increase in thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) suppression of left pulvinar activity. .
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