Language, the brain and dementia

Two fundamental human abilities are to walk and to talk. We have evolved to do it, we learn it fast, we do it all the time. And when I say to talk, I mean in more than one language. Our brains are geared to be multilingual, although many modern societies robbed us of this opportunity. But like sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet, also monolingualism has its negative consequences. The good news is, it is treatable and it is never too late to tackle it.

One of the most popular neuro-myths is the idea that one’s creativity or rationality is related to being more “right” or “left-brained”. Though broadly wrong on both a physiological (and societal) level, there are genuine and interesting differences between the structure of the left and right brain that can be studied using brain imaging. Tonight Lewis will explore the basics of brain anatomy before sharing some of his research into how brain asymmetries relate to functions like language, change with musical training, are altered in neurodevelopmental disorders and may link to human evolution.