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Nonverbal Communication Devices, Language, Cerebral Flexibility, and Recursive Exercises

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Book cover Language and Recursion

Abstract

In order to study and favor cognitive development, we defined an original approach (Lowenthal, Communication and Cognition, 13:43–63, 1980; Proceedings of the seventh International Conference for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Rehovot: Weizmann Institute of Science, 1983): the concept of Nonverbal Communication Device (NVCD).

In this chapter we will first explain what led us to the elaboration of this new approach. We will then define the notion of NVCD-like approaches and give two examples. Results of researches based on the use of these approaches in clinical and experimental settings will also be presented. It will then be shown that NVCD-like approaches have an influence on cerebral activity. This will lead us to a natural question: “Why does it work?” In this chapter we wonder whether this can be associated with the apparent recursive structure of some of the exercises used.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cognitive Sciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium

    Francis Lowenthal & Laurent Lefebvre

Authors
  1. Francis Lowenthal
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  2. Laurent Lefebvre
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Correspondence to Francis Lowenthal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium

    Francis Lowenthal

  2. Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium

    Laurent Lefebvre

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Lowenthal, F., Lefebvre, L. (2014). Nonverbal Communication Devices, Language, Cerebral Flexibility, and Recursive Exercises. In: Lowenthal, F., Lefebvre, L. (eds) Language and Recursion. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9414-0_4

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