Music & Language Studies

MEREWETHER, Frank C. and Murray Alpert. “The Components and Neuroanatomic Bases of Prosody.” Journal of Communication Disorders 23/4-5 (Aug-Oct 1990): 325-336.

A review of the literature for a psychiatric audience. Notes some contradictory findings. Of particular note was one reviewed article by Danly et al., which indicated severe disturbance of fundamental frequency (presumably in speech production) in aphasics, but not in RH lesions. This directly contradicts several studies by Elliott D. Ross and colleagues. They summarize the literature as

indicating the left hemisphere’s dominance for inflection indicating syntax, and the right hemisphere’s dominance for those aspects that indicate the speakers’ intentions, emotions, or feelings.

Also, reviewed are some studies regarding rate of speech, which appears to be moderated by dopamine levels in the brain.