Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2002 - Volume 25, Issue 06  


Short Communication

Language, cognition, and the nature of modularity: Evidence from aphasia

Rosemary Varley a1 and Michael Siegal a2
a1 Department of Human Communication Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK S10 2TA R.A.Varley@sheffield.ac.uk
a2 Department of Psychology, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK S10 2TP M.Siegal@sheffield.ac.uk

Abstract

We examine Carruthers’ proposal that sentences in logical form serve to create flexibility within central system modularity, enabling the combination of information from different modalities. We discuss evidence from aphasia and the neurobiology of input-output systems. This work suggests that there exists considerable capacity for interdomain cognitive processing without language mediation. Other challenges for a logical form account are noted.