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      Linguistic Grammar Learning and DRD2-TAQ-IA Polymorphism

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          Abstract

          As research into the neurobiology of language has focused primarily on the systems level, fewer studies have examined the link between molecular genetics and normal variations in language functions. Because the ability to learn a language varies in adults and our genetic codes also vary, research linking the two provides a unique window into the molecular neurobiology of language. We consider a candidate association between the dopamine receptor D2 gene ( DRD2) and linguistic grammar learning. DRD2-TAQ-IA polymorphism (rs1800497) is associated with dopamine receptor D2 distribution and dopamine impact in the human striatum, such that A1 allele carriers show reduction in D2 receptor binding relative to carriers who are homozygous for the A2 allele. The individual differences in grammatical rule learning that are particularly prevalent in adulthood are also associated with striatal function and its role in domain-general procedural memory. Therefore, we reasoned that procedurally-based grammar learning could be associated with DRD2-TAQ-IA polymorphism. Here, English-speaking adults learned artificial concatenative and analogical grammars, which have been respectively associated with procedural and declarative memory. Language learning capabilities were tested while learners’ neural hemodynamic responses were simultaneously measured by fMRI. Behavioral learning and brain activation data were subsequently compared with the learners’ DRD2 (rs1800497) genotype. Learners who were homozygous for the A2 allele were better at concatenative (but not analogical) grammar learning and had higher striatal responses relative to those who have at least one A1 allele. These results provide preliminary evidence for the neurogenetic basis of normal variations in linguistic grammar learning and its link to domain-general functions.

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          Specific impairments of planning.

          T Shallice (1982)
          An information-processing model is outlined that predicts that performance on non-routine tasks can be impaired independently of performance on routine tasks. The model is related to views on frontal lobe functions, particularly those of Luria. Two methods of obtaining more rigorous tests of the model are discussed. One makes use of ideas from artificial intelligence to derive a task heavily loaded on planning abilities. A group of patients with left anterior lesions has a specific deficit on the task. Subsidiary investigations support the inference that this is a planning impairment.
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            Hold your horses: impulsivity, deep brain stimulation, and medication in parkinsonism.

            Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus markedly improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but causes cognitive side effects such as impulsivity. We showed that DBS selectively interferes with the normal ability to slow down when faced with decision conflict. While on DBS, patients actually sped up their decisions under high-conflict conditions. This form of impulsivity was not affected by dopaminergic medication status. Instead, medication impaired patients' ability to learn from negative decision outcomes. These findings implicate independent mechanisms leading to impulsivity in treated Parkinson's patients and were predicted by a single neurocomputational model of the basal ganglia.
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              Parallel neural networks for learning sequential procedures.

              Recent studies have shown that multiple brain areas contribute to different stages and aspects of procedural learning. On the basis of a series of studies using a sequence-learning task with trial-and-error, we propose a hypothetical scheme in which a sequential procedure is acquired independently by two cortical systems, one using spatial coordinates and the other using motor coordinates. They are active preferentially in the early and late stages of learning, respectively. Both of the two systems are supported by loop circuits formed with the basal ganglia and the cerebellum, the former for reward-based evaluation and the latter for processing of timing. The proposed neural architecture would operate in a flexible manner to acquire and execute multiple sequential procedures.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS One
                PLoS ONE
                plos
                plosone
                PLoS ONE
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, USA )
                1932-6203
                2013
                31 May 2013
                : 8
                : 5
                : e64983
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
                [2 ]The Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, School of Communication, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
                [3 ]Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
                [4 ]Hugh Knowles Center for Clinical and Basic Science in Hearing and Its Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
                Wake Forest School of Medicine, United States of America
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

                Conceived and designed the experiments: PW ME JZ. Performed the experiments: PW ME JZ. Analyzed the data: PW ME JZ. Wrote the paper: PW ME JZ.

                [¤]

                Current address: Human Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, California, United States of America

                Article
                PONE-D-12-35769
                10.1371/journal.pone.0064983
                3669058
                23741438
                5eb82f4e-995e-4409-945f-339f9d51c85c
                Copyright @ 2013

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 13 November 2012
                : 19 April 2013
                Page count
                Pages: 9
                Funding
                This work is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (BCS-1125144) www.nsf.gov and the National Institutes of Health (R01DC008333, R21DC009652, & ARRA R21DC009652-S1) www.nih.gov awarded to P.W., the National Institutes of Health (ARRA RC1DC010633) awarded to J.Z., and a National Institutes of Health Institutional Training Grant (T32 NS047987; PI: Ken Paller) supporting M.E. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
                Categories
                Research Article
                Biology
                Neuroscience
                Learning and Memory
                Neurolinguistics
                Neuropsychology
                Population Biology
                Medicine
                Mental Health
                Psychology
                Cognitive Psychology
                Learning
                Memory
                Social and Behavioral Sciences
                Linguistics
                Natural Language
                Neurolinguistics
                Speech
                Structural Linguistics
                Psychology
                Cognitive Psychology
                Learning
                Memory
                Behavior
                Neuropsychology

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