Alessandra Falzone

Reduced preference for social rewards in a novel tablet based task in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Atypical responsivity to social rewards has been observed in young children with or at risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). These observations contributed to the hypothesis of reduced social motivation in ASD. In the current study we develop a novel task to test social reward preference using a tablet computer (iPad), where two differently coloured buttons were associated with a social and a nonsocial rewarding image respectively. 63 young children, aged 14–68 months, with and without a diagnosis of ASD took part in the study. The experimental sessions were also recorded on video, using an in-built webcam on the tablet as well as an external camera. Children with ASD were found to show a reduced relative preference for social rewards, indexed by a lower proportion of touches for the button associated with the social reward image. Greater social preference as measured using the tablet-based task was associated with increased use of social communicative behaviour such as eye contact with the experimenter and social smile in response to the social reward image. These results are consistent with earlier findings from eye-tracking studies, and provide novel empirical insights into atypical social reward responsivity in ASD.

Neurophysiological and cognitive effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in three girls with Rett Syndrome with chronic language impairments

BACKGROUND this study was based on both neurophysiological decelerated activity and communication deficits in Rett Syndrome (RTT). AIMS the aim was to examine the neurophysiological and cognitive effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in three girls with RTT with chronic language impairments. METHODS AND PROCEDURES we proposed an integrated intervention: tDCS and cognitive empowerment applied to language in order to enhance speech production (new functional sounds and new words). Because maximal gains usually are achieved when tDCS is coupled with behavioral training, we applied tDCS stimulation on Brocas area together with linguistic training. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS the results indicated a general enhancement in language abilities (an increase in the number of vowel/consonant sounds and words and the production and comprehension through discrimination), motor coordination (functional movements), and neurophysiological parameters (an increase in the frequency and power of alpha, beta and theta bands). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS we assume that tDCS stimulation combined with the cognitive empowerment applied to language can significantly influence a chronic impairment even in genetic syndromes. Our results provide data that support the role of tDCS in fostering brain plasticity and in particular in empowering speech production and comprehension in girls with RTT.

Pronominals and presuppositions in that-clauses of indirect reports

In this paper, after outlining the general problem of the pragmatics of indirect reports, we dwell on two notoriously thorny problems: a) how do we interpret the pronominals contained in that-clauses of indirect reports; b) how do we interpret the presuppositions of that-clauses of indirect reports? (These two problems appear to us to be connected either through the specific nature of the solutions or through some general format of the problem). Theoretical considerations lead us in the direction of the idea that if two pragmatic principles clash, one should give way, but since we do not know which one has to give way, we should be prepared to accept that the strongest or highest-ranking principle will defeat (in the sense of temporarily suspending) the other (see Huang 2014). Here we encounter a Principle, which Capone (2006) brought our attention to, that is not usually discussed in pragmatic theories, but which seems to play a crucial role, at least sometimes: Do not expect the hearers and the speakers to do what is not possible for them to do. In this paper, we recognize that the problem of opacity is connected with the problem of voices: who is responsible for a given section of the utterance. Given the presence of polyphony (the presence of two or more voices in the same utterance or section of the utterance (see Macagno and Capone 2016), this problem can be resolved either through contextual clues or through pragmatic principles (see Huang 2014; Douven 2010; Kecskes 2013). We prefer to see the interplay of principles and contextual clues as one in which the interpretation process is pretty orderly, with general principles providing the defaults, while contextual clues occasionally defeat the defaults in certain problematic cases. However, the issue of responsibility, which we try to regiment through the Paraphrasis/Form-style principle, does not only concern the issue of opacity but also the issue of how to find a referent for indexical expressions contained in the that-clause of a report and and how to satisfy the presuppositions of the that-clause. In this case the Paraphrasis/Form-style Principle makes wrong predictions, which have to be rectified thanks to a different principle. The pragmatic theory we apply certainly needs some flexibility (see Huang 2014 on the hierarchy of pragmatic principles), but a flexibility which is not injected into the theory by a mechanical ordering of the rules (that makes pragmatics similar to a generative apparatus), but by explaining why a certain principle takes precedence over another in terms of considerations of rationality (see Capone and Poggi 2016).

Parlanti impossibili, plausibili, reali. Prospettive biolinguistiche in filosofia del linguaggio / Impossible, Possible and Real Speakers. Biolinguistic Perspectives in the Philosophy of Language

In the recent years Life Sciences have been a test in many fields that investigate specific human capacity. Cognitive science of language are animated by a debate on the role that the data coming from biology may play in the definition of mental functions. Classical cognitive science has led both to a dualism between mechanical-morphological components and psychic components (e.g. the typical chomskyan approach) and to a spasmodic search of those brain areas responsible for the “unique” capacity of human language (recursion syntax, semantic creativity, etc.) that could be called “cerebro-centrism”. In contrast with this classical paradigm, we support the idea that a “biological” perspective allows a more appropriate explanation of what language is and how it functions. In particular, by applying evolutionary developmental biology in the study of spoken language, we will show how the biological nature of the speaker could affect the type of the function. This approach can clarify some classical oppositions in the study of language evolution. The biology of the speaker, determined by all of the central and peripheral structures and social practices in which it is exercised, is the set of functional possibilities that the sapiens may present as a linguistic animal.

Another Biolinguistics History: From Aristotle to Darwin

This chapter reconstructs a possible alternative history of Chomskyan biolinguistics hinging on the embodiment of language, whose precursors are identified in Aristotle, Vico, Darwin and Broca. The recent re-reading of Aristotle, given by Franco Lo Piparo, is used to reconstruct a biolinguistics independent of the cerebrocentric hypothesis and, therefore, entirely focused on the primacy of linguistic articulation and of the relevant cognitive properties. Vico reconstructs the glottogonic dimension as the first truly linguistic evolutionary epistemology. Darwin’s position on language is critically discussed in great detail in its functionalist aspects, often influenced by Lamarckian residues. However, we emphasize the decisive importance of gradualism of structures and the populational thought as elements of an irreversible biolinguistics turn materializing in the birth of neuroscience with the discoveries of Broca’s aphasia.

The Update of the Biolinguistic Agenda

This chapter is devoted to the reconstruction of the criticisms and internal reviews of Chomskyan biolinguistics. In particular, it deals with Balari and Lorenzo’s positions, who support the often extreme acceptance of the Evo-Devo, and those of Cedric Boeckx. The latter, especially, deeply reflects the need for the pre-existence of the lexicon so that one is able to apply the computational mechanisms provided by the minimalist position.

Chomsky and Biolinguistics

This chapter describes the origin of contemporary biolinguistics. In particular, the authors discuss the philosophical and linguistic presuppositions of Chomskyan biolinguistics and his ambiguous positions on dualism and Platonism. They also analyze the Chomskyan approach to evolutionism and its criticism of the more functionalist and adaptationist aspects of Darwinism. They highlight his choice to counteract the tendency of naturalistic studies not to develop a solid theory of language.

The Last Chomsky and the Evolutionary Perspective

In this chapter, the authors discuss the developments of Chomskyan biolinguistics within the minimalist framework. In particular, they discuss the Chomskyan descriptions of sensorimotor and conceptual externalization devices and the computational processes Merge and Move. This chapter covers aspects related to the application of the minimalism-inspired revision of evolutionistic positions, starting from the saltation origin of language.

The Boundaries of Biolinguistics

In this chapter, on the basis of the previous ones, the authors discuss the limits of the applicability of biolinguistics as a Darwinian science. In particular, it excludes that biolinguistics is designed to specifically study the products of the language faculty. Since DBM deals with biological structures, we must exclude expertise in the history of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc., and cultural developments of the historical-natural languages from the DBM. From a functional point of view, biolinguistics should only deal with universal biological principles present in the cognitive linguistic procedures that result directly from verbal articulation. Basically, this chapter, will deal with ontogeny performance events and the pragmatic exercise of the language.

Pragmatics and Biolinguistics

In this chapter we discuss the possible applications of pragmatics to biolinguistic issues. In particular, it notes that pragmatics as a discipline is related to the absolute variability of cultural content and can be considered foreign to biolinguistics. On the contrary, as a living form of linguistic performativity – with its generation rules and stabilization of inferences that occur when speech is being produced – pragmatics becomes an essential element of biolinguistics. In particular, it highlights that there are already many pragmatic naturalistic studies that perfectly match the Darwinian approach as they reveal pre-linguistic and linguistic behaviour very similar in humans and non-human animals.