Training in neuroscience is of benefit to practitioners in speech-language pathology.Such training enables practitioners to better understand the functions of the human brain in language. These functions may be termed "neurolinguistic properties".

Question: Try to think of FIVE WAYS the brain functions in communication?

Neuroscience training also helps practitioners build a better grasp of the etiology of neurogenic communicative disorders.The practitioner may be better equipped to manage disorders secondary to nervous system disease if he or she can recognize neurological symptoms and associate them with the various components of the nervous system. 

Question: How might one differentiate neurological dysfunction from normal developmental status?

A thorough appreciation of nervous system function also helps practitioners perform meaningful evaluations and appreciate the scope of identifiable syndromes.

Management of disorders is enhanced when the practitioner better understands treatment goals and potential.

Training in neuroscience will help practitioners understand the literature. constant updating in the research literature is not just for graduate students. After course work is complete, the clinical practitioner must keep abreast of the latest reports. Some of these will be helpful in case management, others will not, but it is part of your ethical responsibility to review the information regularly. 

Of course, you need the substantial knowledge base provided by neuroscience training upon which to base your decision about which articles are helpful. Many times what appear to be fantastic findings are no more than transient phenomena. 
 

Question: can you recall an article that you thought presented clinically useful findings, only to discover that the findings were spurious?

The scope of training required for the clinical speech-language pathologist is not as extensive as that required for surgery or other branches of medicine.

SLP's need a general understanding of the "Functional and Anatomical Organization of the Nervous System."
...as well as the peripheral nerves of the head, neck, thorax and upper extremities......and familiarity with the conscious and voluntary ascending and descending pathways of the human nervous system.

NEUROSCIENCE is the study of the anatomical structures and physiological processes involved in nervous system function. Bhatnagar, S., Andy, O. (1995). Neuroscience for the Study of Communicative Disorders. Baltimore, MD.: Williams & Wilkins.

SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY deals with disorders of cognition, language and speech and, more recently, swallowing.

Communication is perhaps the most complex of human behaviors: (Question: What is the most complex communicative act?)

Many patients report loss of communicative skills to be the most devastating of losses. That is, they feel the loss more significantly than they do the loss of ambulation or other daily living skills.

The nervous system functions in both inter- and intra-personal communication. We use our communicative functions not only to communicate with other people, but to carry on an internal dialogue (if that is the proper term for talking with one's self) . Some of our most complex cognitive actions are the result of reasoning out the situation and the possible results with language as a medium.

There are several branches of neuroscience.

1. Neurology: "Deals with diseases that disrupt nervous system function."

 
1. There are several types of disease:

 
1. Vascular

 
2. Neoplasm

 
3. Degenerative Conditions

 
4. Motor Disorders

 
5. Deficiency Disorders

 
6. Infection (Bacterial and Viral)

 
2. The neurologist uses information from several sources to diagnose and treat disease.

 
1. Clinical examinations

 
2. Laboratory results

 
3. Imaging.

 
4. Speech-Language evaluations

 
2. Neurosurgery is the science that treats nervous system disease through surgery.

 
1. Tumors

 
2. Blood Clots

 
3. Vascular Malformations

 
1. Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure of the nervous system

 
2. Neuroradiology uses radiographic and other imaging techniques to examine the nervous system and to treat some conditions.

 
1. Several imaging techniques are available

 
2. Some neoplastic conditions receive treatment through radiological techniques.

 
3. Neuroembryology deals with the development of the nervous system in the embryonic period.

 
4. Neurophysiology studies the function of the nervous system.

 
5. Neuropathology is the study of nervous system diseases.

 

 
 
 

No matter what the modality, the efficiency of communication depends upon the efficiency of function of the nervous system.

The nervous system must be capable of efficiently encoding and decoding the signals of communication.

The basic neurological process is one of matching a specific symbol to a specific referent.

The more precisely this process is performed, the more efficient will be the communicative act.

6. Several aspects of this process include:

 
1. The number of possible combinations (response field).

 
2. The presence and amount of "Noise."

 
1. "Noise" is any distraction to the signal of interest.

 
2. That signal may, of course, be presented via any of several modalities, including sound, light or touch.

 
3. Noise may also be of any modality, and may interfere with the complete perception of the signal. 

 
4. An important nervous system function is to filter out the noise and attend to the signal.

 

 
 
 

Symbols and referents may related to one or more "Modalities" of communication.

Modalities of communication include: auditory/vocal; visual/motor; tactile /motor;...(Question: Can you think of any others?)

1. Some modalities are more flexible than others.

 
2. The most flexible modalities have the broadest "Signal Bandwidth." This means the signal may be varied in many ways and remain within the transmission Capabilities of the "Transmitter" and within the sensory capabilities of the"Listener."

 
3. Underlying cognitive processes facilitate or inhibit the act of communication. One of the most important of these is the experience of the individuals involved in the communication act. another is the status of the individuals' nervous systems.

 
1. Experience depends not only on the amount of time you have spent on this earth, but on what you have done with that time while you were here. 

 
2. Children's nervous systems continue to develop on into their twenties. during this time, disease or injury may change the developmental sequence. 

 
3. Adults may experience neurological changes as effects of disease, injury or advanced age.

 
7. Thus, we see that understanding of human nervous system form and function is at the heart of any aspect of speech pathology into which one may choose to go.

We must understand the form in order to understand the possible effects of injury or disease. Understanding nervous system development is a must for those who work with young children.We must understand the function in order to properly evaluate patient's abilities and manage treatment.

Neuroscience and Speech-Language Pathology are interrelated, and this interrelationship also holds true for other rehabilitation professions.

Physical Therapy Practitioners help patients gain or restore movement functions.Question :What applications does Neuroscience have to ambulation?Applications to SLP? (How does the ability to ambulate affect communication development and function? To what extent does our awareness of body position affect our cognition?)

Occupational Therapists help patients gain or regain functions for daily living skills.Question: Are there applications of Neuroscience to daily occupational skills?Applications to SLP? (How does our daily living situation affect our need or motivation to communicate?)

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