Instructor: Professor Vesna Mildner, Ph.D.
Course title: Neurolinguistics
Language: English
Duration/Hours: 1 semester/total per semester: 30; per week: 2*
ECTS credits: 5
Terms offered: Fall and spring
Prerequisites: 7th semester of study or later
Maximum number of students per term: 10
Status: Elective
Course description: This is an introductory course in neurolinguistics designed primarily for students of linguistics, phonetics and languages. The topics covered include neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, sex differences, history of neurolinguistics, research methods, theories and models of the central nervous system functioning, lateralization and localization of functions, learning and memory, various aspects of speech and language.
• Week 1 The central nervous system – development, structure and organization;
sensation and perception
• Week 2 Neural bases of speech perception and production
• Week 3 Review of the topics covered in weeks 1&2;
Sex differences: structural differences, differences in functional organization of the brain, behavioral and cognitive differences; brief history of neurolinguistics
• Week 4 Research methods: clinical studies, neuroimaging studies, behavioral tests
• Week 5 Review of the topics covered in weeks 3&4;
Principles of structure, development and functioning of the central nervous system
• Week 6 Theories and models of structure, development and functioning of the central nervous system
• Week 7 Review of the topics covered in weeks 5&6;
Lateralization and localization of functions: commonly used dichotomies, developmental aspects of lateralization, factors influencing lateralization and localization
• Week 8 Learning and memory: types of memory, neural substrates of memory, memory and language
• Week 9 Review of the topics covered in weeks 7&8;
Speech and language – speech and language functions and their location in the brain; anatomic asymmetries and lateralization of speech and language
• Week 10 Phonetics and phonology; tone and prosody; Lexical level and mental lexicon
• Week 11 Sentence level: syntax and semantics; Discourse and pragmatics
• Week 12 Reading, writing, calculation; Language specificities; Is speech special?
• Week 13 Review of the topics covered in weeks 9 through 12;
Bilingualism; Language and the right hemisphere
• Week 14 Speech and language disorders; Patterns of recovery
• Week 15 Final test
Students who successfully complete the course will be familiar with the basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, neural bases of various levels and aspects of normal and disordered speech and language functions, relationship between language and learning and memory, and research methods in neurolinguistics.
Form of instruction: lectures combined with e-learning; lecture notes and relevant journal articles will be available on-line; regular review quizes
Grading: The final grade will be calculated on the basis of quiz results (10% each) and final test (50%). Students who are not satisfied with the final grade or do not reach a total of 61% will have a chance to take a make-up test during the regular exam period at the end of the term.
Quality control: Student questionnaire
Reading
1. Mildner, V. (2007). The Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Communication. LEA (Psychology Press).
2. Pinel, J. P. J. (2008). Biopsychology. Pearson Higher Education, 7th Edition.
3. Purves, D., Augustine, G.J., Fitzpatrick, D., Hall, W. C., LaMantia, A-S., McNamara, J. O., ad White, L. E. (Eds).(2008). Neuroscience (4th Edition). Sinauer Associates.
4. http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_pinel_biopsychology_6/37/9630/2465293.cw/index.html
5. Selection of journal articles made available on-line.
* The course may be condensed (e.g. 5 weeks with 6 periods per week, or some other combination depending on the schedule and students’ wishes). In the case the schedule of quizes will be adjusted accordingly.
Vesna Mildner, Ph.D.
UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Ivana Lučića 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
E-mail:
Curriculum vitae
Born in Zagreb, Croatia. Married to Boris Mildner, Ph.D.
Education
§ Ph.D. (Linguistics - phonetics) - University of Zagreb
§ M. A. (Linguistics) - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. (Fulbright scholar from 1984 through 1986)
§ B. A. (English language and literature; Phonetics) - University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy
§ High-school: Croatia and U.S.A.
Current positions
§ Full professor, Department of Phonetics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb
§ Chair of Applied Phonetics, Department of Phonetics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb
Previous employment and positions held
§ Vice dean in charge of business, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb (2004-2009)
§ Associate professor, Department of Phonetics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (2003-2008)
§ Assistant professor, Department of Phonetics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb (1998-2003)
§ Head of the Phonetics department, Department of Phonetics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb (1998-2000)
§ Research and teaching assistant and lecturer, Department of Phonetics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb (1989-1998)
§ Various positions including administrative, teaching English, interpreting, public relations (1977-1989)
Research and professional interests
§ Bilingualism, neurolinguistics, speech perception, speech acquisition, foreign language learning, hearing impairments
Research activities
§ Participated in six research projects as investigator (in Croatia and the U.S.A.);
§ At present, principal investigator on the project Neurolinguistic aspects of bilingualism, and investigator on the project Functional verbotonal diagnostic program for hearing-impaired children supported by the Ministry for science, education and sports of the Republic of Croatia, investigator on the international project Acquisition of #sC onsets in children with phonological disorders: A
cross linguistic investigation
Publishing activity
§ Books: Govor između lijeve i desne hemisfere (Speech between the left and the right hemisphere, 2003) and The Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Communication (Lawrence Erlbaum, Inc., 2008)
§ About 60 original scientific articles in peer-reviewed international and Croatian journals, proceedings and book chapters
§ Several book reviews and editorials in Croatian and international journals
Invited lectures
§ Presented a number of invited lectures in Croatia and abroad (Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia)
Conferences
§ Presented at more than 40 conferences in Croatia and abroad
§ Organized more than 20 international and Croatian conferences as president, secretary or member of program and/or organizing committees
Editorial activities
§ Editor-in-chief of the journal Strani jezici (Foreign languages) 2000-2004
§ On the editorial board of Govor (Speech), SUVAG, Strani jezici, Journal of Multilingual Language Disorders, Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, Language and Linguistics Compass (on-line, Blackwell Publishing)
§ Guest editor in several special issues of various Croatian and international journals
§ Editor of 7 conference proceedings
§ Regularly asked to review books and articles for a number of Croatian and international journals and proceedings
Teaching activity
§ A number of undergraduate courses at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (e.g. Hearing pathology, Elements of hearing and speech rehabilitation, Phonetic correction, Research into speech perception, Speech acquisition)
§ A number of graduate and doctoral courses at the University of Zagreb (e.g. Neurobiological bases of bilingualism, Speech perception, Neurolinguistics, and a number of seminars) and University of Ljubljana (Phonetics)
Supervision
§ Supervised about 30 B.A. research theses, and 4 PhD dissertations at the University of Zagreb and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Other activities
§ Member of several groups on curriculum
§ Member of many Croatian and international associations, including International Phonetic Association, International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association, with positions on board of some of them; founding member of the Croatian Institute for Brain Research
§ On the board of the Human rights center appointed by the Parliament of Croatia
Mildner, V.: Neurolinguistics 1