neurolinguistics (n.)

A branch of LINGUISTICS, sometimes called neurological linguistics, which studies the neurological basis of LANGUAGE development and use, and attempts to construct a MODEL of the brain’s control over the processes of speaking, listening, reading, writing and signing. The main approach has been to postulate the stages of a neural program(me), which would explain the observed phenomena of temporal ARTICULATORY co-ordination, SEQUENCING and other features of SPEECH PRODUCTION. Central to this approach have been the research findings from the study of CLINICAL LINGUISTIC conditions (such as aphasia, dysarthria, stuttering), in an attempt to deduce the nature of the underlying system from the analysis of its various stages of breakdown. Also important is the study of speech production in PARAMETRIC articulatory phonetic terms – especially of the ‘normal’ ERRORS which are introduced into speech (e.g. TONGUE-SLIPS, HESITATIONS). A third major area is the study of the processes involved in LEXICAL ACCESS. There is a tenuous connection with the use of the term in neurolinguistic programming (NLP), which is a technique in alternative medicine that shows people how to change (‘reprogramme’) their habitual patterns of thought and behavior, using various mental exercises to create new ways of thinking and feeling.