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Why we can talk, debate, and change our minds: Neural circuits, basal ganglia operations, and transcriptional factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2014

Philip Lieberman
Philip Lieberman*
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. [email protected]
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Abstract

Ackermann et al. disregard attested knowledge concerning aphasia, Parkinson disease, cortical-to-striatal circuits, basal ganglia, laryngeal phonation, and other matters. Their dual-pathway model cannot account for “what is special about the human brain.” Their human cortical-to-laryngeal neural circuit does not exist. Basal ganglia operations, enhanced by mutations on FOXP2, confer human motor-control, linguistic, and cognitive capabilities.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , December 2014 , pp. 561 - 562
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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