This textbook is intended for anybody who wants to acquire a grounding in the field of neurolinguistics. It was written for students of linguistics and communication disorders, but students of psychology, neuroscience and other disciplines will also find it valuable. The introductory section presents the theories, models and frameworks underlying modern neurolinguistics. Then, the neurolinguistic aspects of different components of language - phonology, morphology, lexical semantics, and semantics-pragmatics in communication - are discussed.

The third section examines reading and writing, bilingualism, the evolution of language, and multimodality. The book also contains three resource chapters, one on techniques for investigating the brain, another on modeling brain functions, and a third that introduces the basic concepts of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. This text provides an up-to-date linguistic perspective, with a special focus on semantics and pragmatics, evolutionary perspectives, neural network modeling and multimodality, areas that have been less central in earlier introductory works.

Table of contents

Preface vii-ix List of tables x List of figures xi-xii Part I: Introduction to neurolinguistics What is neurolinguistics? 3-8 The development of theories about brain and language 9-34 Models and frameworks in neurolinguistics today 35-51 Part II: Neurolinguistics for different components of language Phonology in neurolinguistics 55-65 Morphology and syntax in neurolinguistics 67-78 Lexical semantics 79-96 The semantics and pragmatics of communicative contributions in context from a neurolinguistic perspective 97-108 Part III: Specific topics in neurolinguistics Reading and writing from a neurolinguistic perspective 111-120 Neurolinguistic aspects of bilingualism 121-127 On the evolution and development of the brain, communication, and language 129-143 Multimodality in neurolinguistics 145-158 Part IV: Resource chapters Methods of investigating the brain 161-166 Modeling the brain 167-177 Some basic concepts in neuroscience 179-188 References 189-203 Index 205-212

"There is definitely a need for an up-to-date Introduction to neurolinguistics. This text book is very pedagogical. It is well organized into chapters, and each chapter is itself well organized, with clearly defined concepts, a survey of the most relevant literature, an integration of each subtopic into the whole, followed by references, suggested reading, and assignments." Michel Paradis, McGill University

"Of particular value are the frequent links to therapy, on the practical side, and different models of brain-language relationships, on the theoretical side. The many points of contact between neurolinguistics and other disciplines will be of value to the professional. Elisabeth Ahlsén's book is recommended as a first-text approach to the science and practice of neurolinguistics." Harry Whitaker, Northern Michigan University