'Two quasi-independent language systems' in Your Brain

A new study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins, Rice, and Columbia Universities reveals that written and spoken language can function independent of one another because those impulses occur from different points in the brain. In order to reach this rather remarkable conclusion, scientists studied patients undergoing treatment for aphasia, or, difficulty communicating after suffering from a stroke. The findings revealed that it is in fact possible to write one word while saying something else; to communicate on the page while unable to speak (and vice versa). From Jacket Copy:

Written and spoken language can exist separately in the brain, a new study from Johns Hopkins shows. The study looked at stroke victims with aphasia that impaired their communication capabilities in one way but not the other.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins, Rice and Columbia universities studied five stroke patients with aphasia, difficulty communicating after their strokes. Four could speak but not write sentences that took a certain form -- the study focused on affixes, such as the "-ing" in "jumping" -- while the last could write those sentences but not speak them.

"Actually seeing people say one thing and -- at the same time -- write another is startling and surprising," Johns Hopkins cognitive science professor Brenda Rapp told the website Futurity. "We don’t expect that we would produce different words in speech and writing. It’s as though there were two quasi-independent language systems in the brain."

Futurity, a nonprofit website that shares university research, explains, "While writing evolved from speaking, the two brain systems are now so independent that someone who can’t speak a grammatically correct sentence aloud may be able write it flawlessly." [...]

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