Comments on: The Man in the Red Shirt http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/ We don't need no stinking subtitle Wed, 08 Jun 2011 05:44:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Bob Calder http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4409 Bob Calder Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:17:27 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4409 Greg, Maybe he's deaf on one side. AND he's annoying. Greg,
Maybe he’s deaf on one side.
AND he’s annoying.

]]> By: a mother's daughter http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4397 a mother's daughter Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:21:46 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4397 OK, it's spillover. Got it. You over-reacted. Got it. But I'm still trying to figure out how your assumptions about which part of his brain he was using to listen has anything to do with anything? OK, it’s spillover. Got it. You over-reacted. Got it. But I’m still trying to figure out how your assumptions about which part of his brain he was using to listen has anything to do with anything?

]]> By: Barn Owl http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4368 Barn Owl Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:28:48 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4368 But "liberalized processing" is teh funniez! Don't edit it away! I have to perform liberalized processing every day - else the conservative religiocracy patriarchal crap I hear all day at work would make my head explode. I agree that people have a preference for which ear they "put forward" or hold the phone to, but I remain unconvinced that this has anything causal to do with preferential language processing and targeting in cortical areas, whether Area 22, primary auditory, or various association regions. But “liberalized processing” is teh funniez! Don’t edit it away! I have to perform liberalized processing every day – else the conservative religiocracy patriarchal crap I hear all day at work would make my head explode.

I agree that people have a preference for which ear they “put forward” or hold the phone to, but I remain unconvinced that this has anything causal to do with preferential language processing and targeting in cortical areas, whether Area 22, primary auditory, or various association regions.

]]> By: Stephanie Zvan http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4364 Stephanie Zvan Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:05:02 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4364 Psst, Greg...you're an admin. You have edit privileges on comments. Psst, Greg…you’re an admin. You have edit privileges on comments.

]]> By: Greg Laden http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4363 Greg Laden Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:31:07 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4363 And by liberalized (spell checker!) I mean lateralized!!!! And by liberalized (spell checker!) I mean lateralized!!!!

]]> By: Greg Laden http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4362 Greg Laden Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:30:30 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4362 Barn Owl: And thus, people can and do actually hear langauge wiht both ears. That is not disputed. But what is also not disputed is that people have contra-lateral preference for hearing ... in phone use, in thrusting an ear forward to hear something important, etc. etc., that seems to correlate with liberalized processing. Also, the lateralization of language as you describe is best described as "mostly" and "typical" and certainly does not apply to everyone (though to most people). This man's reverse lateralization which I infer is very very annoying. You don't have be convinced that I'm right. I simply am right. What you need to do is to adjust your thinking about language function to explain the widely reported observation! ADM: Well, clearly it isn't really annoying. It is just that the guy is so annoying in every other way that I thought I'd also be annoyed at that. Barn Owl: And thus, people can and do actually hear langauge wiht both ears. That is not disputed. But what is also not disputed is that people have contra-lateral preference for hearing … in phone use, in thrusting an ear forward to hear something important, etc. etc., that seems to correlate with liberalized processing. Also, the lateralization of language as you describe is best described as “mostly” and “typical” and certainly does not apply to everyone (though to most people). This man’s reverse lateralization which I infer is very very annoying.

You don’t have be convinced that I’m right. I simply am right. What you need to do is to adjust your thinking about language function to explain the widely reported observation!

ADM: Well, clearly it isn’t really annoying. It is just that the guy is so annoying in every other way that I thought I’d also be annoyed at that.

]]> By: a daughter's mother http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4360 a daughter's mother Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:13:55 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4360 I don't get why listening with the left ear is annoying, and yes, that's even after reading everything posted above about brain function. I'm left-handed and left-eared. Never considered anything but that I listen / hear better that way when it's via only one ear. I hear voices, music, traffic, etc. with both ears just fine, so I expect both have their use, else why have two? What's the beef? More particularly, given your assumptions about how it translates into brain processing, just what about that bugs you and why? I don’t get why listening with the left ear is annoying, and yes, that’s even after reading everything posted above about brain function. I’m left-handed and left-eared. Never considered anything but that I listen / hear better that way when it’s via only one ear. I hear voices, music, traffic, etc. with both ears just fine, so I expect both have their use, else why have two? What’s the beef?

More particularly, given your assumptions about how it translates into brain processing, just what about that bugs you and why?

]]> By: Barn Owl http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4350 Barn Owl Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:14:50 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4350 Yet the sensory input in this case is entirely auditory, and it must go through the massively interconnected brainstem pathways first, regardless of which ear listens to the phone. Your cortex certainly can't interpret auditory input directly. The cochlea itself is "tuned", and the information is transmitted in a tonotopic manner throughout the brainstem connections to auditory cortex. Language processing in the cortex is already lateralized in Brodmann's Area 22, with the dominant hemisphere (the left in most people) responsible for understanding the meanings of individual words, and the same area in the non-dominant hemisphere responsible for interpreting prosody (melody, pitch, etc.). Lesions to this particular region of the superior temporal gyrus in different hemispheres will cause fundamentally different types of aphasias. I doubt one can switch left/right hemisphere functions of Area 22, depending on which ear is listening to the phone. Not sayin' it can't happen, but in the absence of actual data in the form of brain imaging, I remain unconvinced. I'm annoying that way. Yet the sensory input in this case is entirely auditory, and it must go through the massively interconnected brainstem pathways first, regardless of which ear listens to the phone. Your cortex certainly can’t interpret auditory input directly. The cochlea itself is “tuned”, and the information is transmitted in a tonotopic manner throughout the brainstem connections to auditory cortex.

Language processing in the cortex is already lateralized in Brodmann’s Area 22, with the dominant hemisphere (the left in most people) responsible for understanding the meanings of individual words, and the same area in the non-dominant hemisphere responsible for interpreting prosody (melody, pitch, etc.). Lesions to this particular region of the superior temporal gyrus in different hemispheres will cause fundamentally different types of aphasias. I doubt one can switch left/right hemisphere functions of Area 22, depending on which ear is listening to the phone. Not sayin’ it can’t happen, but in the absence of actual data in the form of brain imaging, I remain unconvinced. I’m annoying that way.

]]> By: Greg Laden http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4348 Greg Laden Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:32:54 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4348 Brain stem aside, several studies have shown a side preference in ear use contra-correlated with language processing (not auditory processing) lateralization. So I shall continue to be annoyed at this particular habit. Brain stem aside, several studies have shown a side preference in ear use contra-correlated with language processing (not auditory processing) lateralization. So I shall continue to be annoyed at this particular habit.

]]> By: Barn Owl http://quichemoraine.com/2009/07/the-man-in-the-red-shirt/#comment-4345 Barn Owl Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:33:47 +0000 http://quichemoraine.com/?p=1409#comment-4345 Red shirt man is definitely heavy with annoying habits, but processing auditory information with right hemisphere only isn't one of them. There are both monaural and binaural pathways, so that auditory information from either cochlea goes to auditory cortices in both hemispheres. There's a lot of cross-talk and switching from side-to-side in the auditory pathway all the way up the brainstem, from cochlear nuclei to superior olives to medial geniculate nuclei. Brainstem lesions, such as strokes, rarely cause deafness in one ear ... that's almost always the result of damage to the cochlea or the cochlear nuclei. But yeah, the guy sounds like an annoying affected poser. As opposed to being an annoying neuroscience instructor. ;-) Red shirt man is definitely heavy with annoying habits, but processing auditory information with right hemisphere only isn’t one of them. There are both monaural and binaural pathways, so that auditory information from either cochlea goes to auditory cortices in both hemispheres. There’s a lot of cross-talk and switching from side-to-side in the auditory pathway all the way up the brainstem, from cochlear nuclei to superior olives to medial geniculate nuclei. Brainstem lesions, such as strokes, rarely cause deafness in one ear … that’s almost always the result of damage to the cochlea or the cochlear nuclei.

But yeah, the guy sounds like an annoying affected poser.

As opposed to being an annoying neuroscience instructor. ;-)

]]>