Glossary
Broca’s area
Areas 44 and 45 on Brodmann’s architectonic map plays an essential role in various speech and language functions. Functional MRI studies have also identified activation patterns in Broca’s area associated with various language tasks, also involved in producing written words.
Grapheme
The units within a language eg. Letters of the alphabet
Phonological awareness
Phonological awareness is thought to be a key skill in early reading and spelling development. It is the ability to identify how words are made up of smaller units of sound, known as phonemes.
Phonics
The teaching of linking sounds to groups of letters and linking of these sounds together to produce the ability to prononciate words
Strabismus
A condition in which muscles in the eyes do not allow them to align together and for both eyes to focus on one point together, causing problems in depth perception
Myopia
A condition in which an eye defect means that light entering the eye does not focus directly on the retina, causing the person to be short sighted
Phonome
The smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning, as the m of mat and the b of bat in English.
Plasticity
An area of the brain, including its function is flexible and may be remodelled with time.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
A medical imaging technique that uses a very powerful magnet to align atoms in the body and enables internal structures to be visualised.
Occipitotemproal region
An area of the brain that covers part of both the occipital and temporal lobes of the brain.