Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Studies of severe, monogenic forms of language disorders have revealed important insights into the mechanisms that underpin language development and evolution. It is clear that monogenic mutations in genes such as FOXP2 and CNTNAP2 only account for a small proportion of language disorders seen in children, and the genetic basis of language in modern humans is highly complex and poorly understood. In this review, we examine why we understand so little of the genetic landscape of language disorders, and how the genetic background of an individual greatly affects the way in which a genetic change is expressed. We discuss how the underlying genetics of language disorders has informed our understanding of language evolution, and how recent advances may obtain a clearer picture of language capacity in ancient hominins.
Source: Journal of Language Evolution
DOI: 10.1093/jole/lzx019
Authors: Hayley S Mountford, Dianne F Newbury
Institution: Oxford Brookes University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2774633398