Neurolinguistics, History of

Abstract

The history of neurolinguistics is described, starting with the modern period, beginning in the 1960s. Subsequently, an overview of studies and theories on the effects of brain lesions on language behavior is presented. Up to the nineteenth century, mainly single case descriptions have been recorded. Franz Joseph Gall stimulated the search for the localization of mental functions in the brain, in particular language. Originally, language was primarily viewed as a production and perception of words. In the twentieth century, aphasiologists began to investigate syntactical and phonological issues in relation to aphasia. Interest in linguistic aspects of language resulted in the emergence of neurolinguistics as a scientific discipline.