Abstract
We reconstructed the mechanism of impaired language domain on the basis of cognitive neuropsychology, functional imaging and the latest findings of molecular biology. Especially, we focused on syntax processing, and sentence understanding and production. The relation between FOXP2 gene mutation and specific language impairment (SLI) was investigated based on molecular biology findings. In SLI, the morphemic disorder influenced sentence understanding and production. However, SLI due to FOXP2 gene mutation was thought to be different from the dysfunction of syntactic structure generation or vocabulary selection. Subsequently, involvement of the temporal lobe in syntax processing was investigated based on the function imaging and findings of the damage brain. There was no doubt that the left frontal lobe, especially the Brodmann's areas 44 and 45, were closely taking part in the function of syntactic structure generation, vocabulary selection and grammatical morphemes acquisition. However, generation and understanding of the predicate-argument structure were assumed to originate at the semantic role of the verb, and involvement of the temporal lobe was suggested. These results gave an important suggestion for training patients with speech disorder whose chief complaint was language disorder of the grammar.
