SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNICATION CODES AND FACTORS IN BRAIN-DAMAGED PATIENTS

There is a need to break away from the tradition of grammatical descriptions that attempt to force a living language into the tight framework of formal logic and ignore the context in which they are used. The preoccupation with grammatical structure was the legacy of structural linguistics, but the cognitive revolution brought about an interest in factors beyond purely linguistic concerns. As a consequence, the significance of nonlinguistic communication (including paralinguistic and extralinguistic codes) for efficient social interrelations has been recognized. Paralinguistic codes involve tone and pitch of voice besides intonation and rhythm, while extralinguistic codes comprise a variety of vocal and kinesis behaviours. In addition, individual, social, and cultural factors impact the functioning of these codes. Difficulties encountered by patients with injuries in different brain areas confer the significance of these codes. It was found that patients with aphasia are able to communicate with the use of an extralinguistic code. On the other hand, patients with right hemisphere injuries exhibit disorders of the paralinguistic and extralinguistic codes, which results in severe difficulties in establishing good social relations. Frontal lobe lesions lead to disturbances of all three codes but on a metalinguistic level. Such patients tend to use language that is objectionable in a given situation. The orbitofrontal lesions induce folly or excessive frivolity connected with excessive talkativeness (moria), while the dorsolateral lesions lead to the lack or substantial reduction of verbal contact (logopenia). At the same time, patients with both types of frontal syndrome exhibit difficulties in understanding complex and metaphorical utterances.