A combined fMRI and DTI examination of functional language lateralization and arcuate fasciculus structure: Effects of degree versus direction of hand preference

The present study examined the relationship between hand preference degree and direction, functional language lateralization in Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, and structural measures of the arcuate fasciculus. Results revealed an effect of degree of hand preference on arcuate fasciculus structure, such that consistently-handed individuals, regardless of the direction of hand preference, demonstrated the most asymmetric arcuate fasciculus, with larger left versus right arcuate, as measured by DTI. Functional language lateralization in Wernicke’s area, measured via fMRI, was related to arcuate fasciculus volume in consistent-left-handers only, and only in people who were not right hemisphere lateralized for language; given the small sample size for this finding, future investigation is warranted. Results suggest handedness degree may be an important variable to investigate in the context of neuroanatomical asymmetries.     

Limits on learning phonotactic constraints from recent production experience

Adults can learn new artificial phonotactic constraints by producing syllables that exhibit the constraints. The experiments presented here tested the limits of phonotactic learning in production using speech errors as an implicit measure of learning. Experiment 1 tested a constraint in which the placement of a consonant as an onset or coda depended on the identity of a nonadjacent consonant. Participant speech errors reflected knowledge of the constraint but not until the 2nd day of testing. Experiment 2 tested a constraint in which consonant placement depended on an extralinguistic factor, the speech rate. Participants were not able to learn this constraint. Together, these experiments suggest that phonotactic-like constraints are acquired when mutually constraining elements reside within the phonological system.     

Book reviews

Form and Validity in Indian Logic. Vijay Bharadwaja, 1990. Simla, Indian Institute of Advanced Study. 127 pp.

The Word and The World: India's Contribution to the Study of Language. Bimal Krishna Matilal, 1990 Delhi, Oxford University Press ix+189pp., Rs175.00

The Basic Ways of Knowing. Govardhan P. Bhatt, 1989 Delhi, Banarasidas xxviix+435 pp.

The Quest for Man. J. Van Nispen & D. Tiemersma (Eds), 1991 Assen/Maastricht, Van Gorcum ix+203 pp., Dfl39.50

Muslim‐Christian Encounters: Perceptions and Misperceptions. William Montgomery Watt, 1991 London, Routledge 164 pp.

Socrates in Mediaeval Arabic Literature. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies Vol. X. Ilai Alon, 1991. Leiden: E. J. Brill/Jerusalem, The Magnes Press. pp. 198, US$50

Tsung‐mi and the Sinification of Buddhism. Peter N. Gregory, 1991 Princeton, Princeton University Press 368 pp., US$49.50

Modern Civilization: A Crisis of Fragmentation. S. C. Malik, 1989. New Delhi, Abhinav Publications. 182 pp., Rs 150.00

Nature in Asian Traditions of Thought: Essays in Environmental Philosophy. J. Baird Callicott & Roger T. Ames (Eds), 1989 Albany, NY, State University of New York Press 335+xxi pp., US$16.95     

Limits on phonetic integration in duplex perception

The telling fact about duplex perception is that listeners integrate into a unitary phonetic percept signals that are coherent from a phonetic point of view, even though the signals are, on purely auditory grounds, separate sources. Here we explore the limits on the integration of a sinusoidal consonant cue (theF3 transition for [da] vs. [ga]) with the resonances of the remainder of the syllable. Perceiving duplexly, listeners hear the whistle of the sinusoid, but also the [da] and [ga] for which the sinusoid provides the critical information. In the first experiment, phonetic integration was significantly reduced, but not to zero, by a precursor that extended the transition cue forward in time so that it started 50 msec before the cue. The effect was the same above and below the duplexity threshold (the intensity of sinusoid in the combined pattern at which the whistle was just barely audible). In the second experiment, integration was reduced once again by the precursor, and also, but only below the duplexity threshold, by harmonics of the cues that were simultaneous with it. The third experiment showed that the simultaneous harmonics reduced phonetic integration only by serving as distractors while also permitting the conclusion that the precursor produced its effects by making the cue part of a coherent and competing auditory pattern, and so “capturing” it. The fourth experiment supported this interpretation by showing that for some subjects the amount of capture was reduced when the capturing tone was itself captured by being made part of a tonal complex. The results support the assumption that the independent phonetic system will integrate across disparate sources according to the cohesive power of that system as measured against the evidence for separate sources.     

Book reviews

The Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy. Lama Anagarika Govinda, 1991, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, Rs 125

The Law of Karma: a philosophical study. Bruce R. Reichenbach, 1990, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, pp. xiv + 238, $38.00

Religious Philosophy of Tagore and Radhakrishnan. Harendra Prasad Sinha, 1993, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers 188 pp., Rs. 150

Scripture, Canon and Commentary: a comparison of Confucian and Western exegesis. John B. Henderson, 1991, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, xii + 247 pp. $32.50

Chan Insights and Oversights: an epistemological critique of the Chan tradition. Bernard Fauré, 1993, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, ix + 322 pp. £45

Reason and Tradition in Indian Thought: an essay on the nature of Indian philosophical thinking. Jitendra Nath Mohanty, 1992, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 306 pp. £37.50

Avicenna. L. E. Goodman London, Routledge, 1992, xii + 240 pp. £12.99

Becoming Bamboo: Western and Eastern explorations of the meaning of life. Robert E. Carter, 1992, Montreal, McGill‐Queen's University Press, xvi + 224 pp. £22.95     

Book reviews

History of Islamic Philosophy Seyyed Hossein Nasr & Oliver Leaman, Editors, 1996 London, Routledge Part I, xx+ 780 pp., Part II, xiv + 428 pp., hb ISBN 0415 05 6675, £120.00

Early Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism: the Mahāyāna context of the Gaudapādiya‐Kārikā Richard King, 1995 Albany, State University of New York Press xii + 341 pp., pb $19.95

Vaisnavism: its philosophy, theology and religious discipline S.M. Srinwasa Chari, 1994 Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass xxxviii + 383 pp., pb Rs. 350

Vaisnavism: contemporary scholars discuss the Gaudiya tradition Steven J. Rosen (Ed.), 1992 Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1994 ix + 354 pp., pb Rs. 160

Cultural Realism: strategic culture and grand strategy in Chinese history Alastair Iain Johnston, 1995 Princeton, Princeton University Press xiii + 367 pp., hb ISBN 0691029962, $39.50

Laughing at the Tao: debates among Buddhists and Taoists in medieval China Livia Kohn, 1995 Princeton, Princeton University Press xii + 281 pp. hb (price not given)

Pantheism. A Non‐theistic Concept of Deity Michael P. Levine, 1994 London, Routledge xii + 388 pp., hb £45 ISBN 0415070643     

A k-sample significance test for independent alpha coefficients

The earlier two-sample procedure of Feldt [1969] for comparing independent alpha reliability coefficients is extended to the case ofK 2 independent samples. Details of a normalization of the statistic under consideration are presented, leading to computational procedures for the overallK-group significance test and accompanying multiple comparisons. Results based on computer simulation methods are presented, demonstrating that the procedures control Type I error adequately. The results of a power comparison of the case ofK=2 with Feldt's [1969]F test are also presented. The differences in power were negligible. Some final observations, along with suggestions for further research, are noted.The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Michael E. Masson, in the computations performed, and of Leonard S. Feldt, in suggesting the data generation procedures used in the study. In addition, the authors thank James Zidek and the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of British Columbia, for advice concerning some of the theoretical development.     

Effects of Photographic Evidence on Mock Juror Judgement1

Effects of three levels of photographic evidence (color, black & white, no photograph) on 144 female subjects' monetary awards to an injured plaintiff were investigated in a 3 × 2 × 3 factorial design. Also manipulated were two levels of the severity of the plaintiff's injury and three levels of defendant blame. As predicted, a significant three-way interaction was observed such that the magnitude of the difference in monetary damages awarded the more and less severely injured plaintiff was greatest in the presence of the color photograph depicting injuries and when defendant blame was high. An emotional arousal interpretation for the effects of photographic evidence is tentatively offered.