Neurological basis of language and reading

The central theme of this article is that contemporary neuroanatomical-neurolinguistic models which conceptualize language and reading as multidimensional, interactive functional systems are more able than earlier localizationist viewpoints to contribute to our understanding of individual differences. After providing a theoretical rationale for this position based on Luria (1973,1980), three modern neuroanatomical-neuroloinguistic models, derived from the extensive case study literature of adult asphasia, alexia, and acquired dyslexia, are discussed. Specifically, the Geschwind-Dejerine model of reading which stresses involvement of classical perisylvian structures in the left hemisphere, Bastian's (1898) competing model which postulates more bihemispheric involvement in reading, and a neurolinguistic model to account for the different ways surface, phonological, and deep dyslexics access meaning, are critically evaluated in terms of their empirical validation, utility, and limitations for understanding individual differences. Finally, suggestions for future research are offered.