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Thalamic Mechanisms in Language

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Neuropsychology

Part of the book series: Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology ((HBNE,volume 2))

Abstract

Although there are reports in the early literature of lesions of the thalamus in association with disorders of perception, for example, de Morsier’s (1938) case of pulvinar lesion with “peduncular hallucinosis,” as well as with disorders of cognition, such as Grunthal’s (1942) case of “thalamic dementia,” it was not until the monograph by Penfield and Roberts (1959) that attention was focused on the thalamus in relation to language organization. In this monograph, it was proposed that the thalamus, specifically the nucleus pulvinaris, was a way station in language processing between the anterior and posterior speech zones. While no persuasive evidence was presented in support of this hypothesis, it was at least consistent with the enormous expansion of pulvinar over the mammalian series leading to man, as well as with the presence of major fiber pathways between pulvinar and the posterior temporoparietal cortex.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, New York University Medical Center, Roosevelt Island, New York, 10044, USA

    Jason W. Brown

  2. Goldwater Memorial Hospital, Roosevelt Island, New York, 10044, USA

    Jason W. Brown

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  1. Jason W. Brown
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York, USA

    Michael S. Gazzaniga

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© 1979 Plenum Press, New York

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Brown, J.W. (1979). Thalamic Mechanisms in Language. In: Gazzaniga, M.S. (eds) Neuropsychology. Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3944-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3944-1_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-3946-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-3944-1

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