Dissociations between Language and Cognition: Evidence from a Neurodevelopmental Disorder
{'Code': '04040500', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'SBE', 'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'BCS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Paul G. Chapin', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
ABSTRACT                                                                                                                                 The general objectives of the research are to understand the               interrelationship and separability of language and cognition.                   Williams Syndrome (WS), a rare (est. 1:50,000) metabolic disorder               provides a unique and powerful vehicle for investigating separa-                bility of higher cortical functions.  Preliminary studies with                  six WS adolescents suggest a specific behavioral profile which is               discontinuous from normal; subjects are mentally retarded with                  grammatical capacity remarkably spared.  The broad program of                   studies outlined below will provide a new and important perspec-                tive on the neural basis for language and cognition.                                                                                                            I.  Decoupling of language from cognition                                                                                                                            The precise relationship between language structure                        (grammar) and other aspects of cognitive functions is a hotly                   debated theoretical issue.  The study of normal development sheds               little light on this issue in that linguistic and nonlinguistic                 cognitive faculties are so intertwined that it is extremely                     difficult to separate these functions.  In contrast, subjects                   with WS may provide a unique opportunity to address hypotheses                  bearing on the dissociability of linguistic and nonlinguistic                   cognitive domains and their underlying neural basis.                                                                                                            II.  The selective autonomy of syntax                                                                                                                                The investigators will mount a broad program of probes of                  syntax and semantics, using both on-line and off-line tasks which               may show fractionation of higher cortical functioning.  They will               examine the degree to which linguistic components are vulnerable                to marked cognitive deficits.  The preliminary hypothesis is that               language in WS subjects may be characterized by the relative                    preservation of the most autonomous aspects of the linguistic                   system (syntax), and that to the extent that other cognitive                    systems interact with a component of the linguistic system, e.g.                in the semantic domain, increasing deviance in language organiza-               tion may be found.  The selective preservation of grammar in this               population would provide an important testing ground for determi-               nants of cerebral specialization for language.                                                                                                                  III.  Differential impairment in components of spatial cognition                                                                                                     Spatial cognition has traditionally resisted fractionation                 into components; however, WS may provide a strong case for dis-                 sociations within this domain.  The investigators will explore                  the hypothesis that WS results in severely impaired visuospatial                abilities, but preserved visuoperceptual capacities.  In                        addition, preliminary studies suggest that spatial cognition in                 WS is characterized by a selective attnetion to details of a                    configuration at the expense of the whole.
{'FirstName': 'Ursula', 'LastName': 'Bellugi', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Ursula Bellugi', 'EmailAddress': 'bellugi@salk.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000164661', 'StartDate': '04/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'The Salk Institute for Biological Studies', 'CityName': 'LA JOLLA', 'ZipCode': '920371002', 'PhoneNumber': '8584534100', 'StreetAddress': '10010 N TORREY PINES RD', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'California', 'StateCode': 'CA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '50', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'CA50', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'NNJ6BMBTFGN5', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, THE', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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[{'Code': '118000', 'Text': 'HUMAN COGNITION & PERCEPTION'}, {'Code': '131100', 'Text': 'Linguistics'}]
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8820673.xml'}