A physiological framework for the cortical representation of phonemes and conduction aphasia: phonotopic hypothesis

Summary form only given. This paper provides a novel physiological framework for the anatomical identification of conduction aphasia (CA). The tenet is that the columns in the SMG are a reflection of a topographic map for phonemes (phonotopy), and CA is essentially the result of the dysfunction in this representation. The validity of this hypothesis is verified through neurolinguistic analysis on CA. Then a computer simulation of the cortical column is presented which suggests that the dysfunction of the lateral inhibition and the increase in latency due to afferent input damage are the major causes of order errors in CA. Our results suggest that language is by no means special, thus the traditional neurophysiological methodologies, scientific or clinical, could be applied to neurolinguistic research.