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12 Introduction Human language processing can be viewed as human processing of information. With the concepts of processing of options, a program, and a processing system being necessary for any consideration of information processing phenomena, the use of terminology associated with computer science should not be understood as an attempt to draw close an analogy, as natural language remains a scope of skill unmatched by artificial intelligence. Therefore, human neurophysiology shall be the primary area of reference for the following discussion of the role of feedback in language behavior. Live organisms have been observed to use DNA-encoded endowment for growth and sustention (Young, 1984). This genetic code has been compared to a program, where a program may be understood as a systematic plan for an automatic solution of a problem (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989). Further, biological organisms can be posited to depend for activity on development, renewal, and maintenance of own internal structures (Young, 1984). Thus, the term problemas in the hitherto definition of a program might be comprehended primarily as the task of homeostasis uphold to require substance selection and exchange within an environment.

The Role of Feedback in Language Processing: Neurophysiology of feedback

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Neurophysiology of feedback: an exploration of the human nervous system , beginning with the single cell, and ending with the intricate connectedness of the human brain. A defended language thesis.

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  • 12

    Introduction

    Human language processing can be viewed as human processing of

    information. With the concepts of processing of options, a program, and

    a processing system being necessary for any consideration of information

    processing phenomena, the use of terminology associated with computer

    science should not be understood as an attempt to draw close an

    analogy, as natural language remains a scope of skill unmatched by

    artificial intelligence. Therefore, human neurophysiology shall be the

    primary area of reference for the following discussion of the role of

    feedback in language behavior.

    Live organisms have been observed to use DNA-encoded endowment for

    growth and sustention (Young, 1984). This genetic code has been

    compared to a program, where a program may be understood as a

    systematic plan for an automatic solution of a problem (Webster's

    Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989).

    Further, biological organisms can be posited to depend for activity on

    development, renewal, and maintenance of own internal structures

    (Young, 1984). Thus, the term problem as in the hitherto definition of a

    program might be comprehended primarily as the task of homeostasis

    uphold to require substance selection and exchange within an

    environment.

  • 13

    The systemic selection and exchange to concern the single cell as well as

    entire complex structures such as human beings, a biological program

    may be exemplified by a DNA pattern for active protein production.

    Importantly, even basic programs of cellular activity can be claimed to

    rely on feedback for execution (Vander et al., 1985), feedback to be

    defined here as returning of part the output of a system to be reintroduced

    as input (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English

    Language, 1989).

    Positive and negative feedback cycles have been recognized, where the

    former, also known as regenerative feedback, aids the input, whereas the

    latter opposes it, hence the alternate term inverse feedback. As

    elementary cellular functioning accrues into schemata that allow learned

    behaviors, total and integrated patterns of human activity can be argued

    to build on feedback for their formation, effectuation, and permanence.

    The role of feedback in controlling automatic operations was promoted by

    Norbert Wiener, who insisted that the concept of a feedback process

    might be applied in neuroscience. Within the perspective, feedback

    performance can be understood as a closed-loop effectiveness over open-

    loop sequences (Puppel, 1988, 1996). The effectiveness would be of

    relevance to natural language, in the working of the human nervous

  • 14

    system. Therefore, the system shall be explored for feedback phenomena

    in cellular, intercellular, as well as interschematic scopes.

    For a competent insight into natural language, the inquiry shall include

    human communication as an interplay of aspects of intra-individual as

    well as inter-individual valence. Psycholinguistics to constitute the

    framework for the intended quest, feedback reliance shall be examined in

    language acquisition, use, and deficit. A principled occurrence to become

    affirmed in neurophysiological as well as psychological dimensions of

    human existence, human dependence on feedback functions can be

    acknowledged as approximate to a drive, the relevant instinct being that

    for self-preservation. In this view to human information processing,

    feedback would have the role of an initiating, mediating, and modeling

    factor.

  • 15

    Chapter One

    Neurophysiology of feedback

    A perspective to human language processing as human processing of

    information requires congruity with regard to the terms of a processing

    system, processing of options, a program, information pool, signal

    specificity, and use of feedback. The human nervous system to be the

    information processing structure, this structure shall be explored

    beginning with the single cell, and ending with the intricate

    connectedness of the human brain. Coherence averred in the above

    terms, regularity in feedback reliance shall be assessed for a principled

    phenomenon.

    1. Feedback-mediated phenomena at the cellular level of human

    neural structures

    Positive and negative feedback processes have been evidenced in human

    nervous systems already at the level of the single cell during electric

    potential change. As within the ionic hypothesis by A. L. Hodgkin and A.

    F. Huxley, action potential generation exemplifies positive feedback, in

    the depolarizing phase (Vander et al., 1985). Alternately, the active

    transport system to provide for relative intracellular stability would work

    on negative feedback.

  • 16

    The basic level of the nervous system organization, cellular activity

    deserves acknowledgement in functions as advanced as language.

    Individual cells are indispensable to the nervous system as elemental

    components. Higher processing variables, to be inclusive of speech and

    language, need the deterministic manner of neural network effectuation,

    neural networks to build on individually synapsing nerve cells.

    Though an individual signal from a single cell is more than likely to fall

    within the systemic allowance for error, human language functions can

    be viewed as using processing of options, an action potential to be a

    brief, all-or-none reversal in neuron polarity (Vander et al., 1985).

    Perceivable language capacities not to have required action potentials

    never have been averred for humans, saltatory conduction to belong with

    combined synaptic effects.

    M. Coles as well as P. Duncan-Jones (in Ciarkowska, 1993) stipulated for

    functional aspects of biological activity to correspond for lower as well as

    higher levels of the human internal hierarchy. In keeping with the

    position, feedback reliance should hold true for the lowest as well as the

    highest biological levels for natural language, that is, for a single neuron

    as well as the language capable network schemata in the brain.

    Feedback phenomena at the cellular level would belong with biological

    effects, the same as active protein DNA programs, for example.

  • 17

    2. Intercellular communication: the spatio-temporal aspects of

    language processing

    A single neuron may link with thousands of synapses. Signals are

    initiated by joined synaptic activity and launched mostly in series.

    Regarding the natural neural diversity and specialization, the spatial

    arrangement of synapses or cell receptors might be stated essential to

    human information processing, neuron particular sites further to exhibit

    varied thresholds. Second messenger extrasynaptic interaction also is

    known to take place in some areas of high-density unmyelinated brain

    processes, spatial adjacency thus affecting neural conveyance.

    Flexibility as already in the single cell permits a multiplicity of responses,

    dependent on neural signal type, as well as occurrence. The temporal

    closure on interneural communication cannot be disregarded, inhibitory

    and excitatory signals summating spatially as well as temporally (Vander

    et al., 1985). The time interval must constitute a predictable and

    henceforth meaningful variable in the neural transmission for language.

    These are the grounds to posit for the actual outcome of neural

    correlativity to represent a biological function of space as well as time to

    an extent greater than that allowed by the theories of extrinsic timing (in

    Puppel, 1988).

  • 18

    The theories approve of the temporal aspect, yet as extrinsic to the

    speech plan, the temporal closure to be set on phonetic segments in the

    speech act implementation phase. A major argument to the contrary may

    come with the property of the nervous system constantly to show

    actuation that is part preparatory in nature, diagnostic techniques as

    PET-scan or MRI to specialize in discernment of the degree of cellular

    engagement, and not detection of activity as such. Continual actuation

    pertains with any live cell.

    Neurons not participating in a specific speech plan cannot be thought

    inactive, their resting state to rely on a dynamic balance between the cell

    interior and exterior: even action potentials become generated during the

    preparatory activity. The neural summation necessary for any speech act

    would depend on feedback as a phenomenon to require a specific time

    closure for operativeness.

    Psycholinguistics tends to view meaning as a real-time process

    (Burkhanov, 1998). Further rationale to the perspective may be sought in

    derivative transformations of generative phonology (Jassem, 1987). Since

    the outcome of excitation as in an isolated cell may be predicted only in

    terms of statistics, these would be indeed the spatial arrangement of

    neurons as well as the temporal closure on neural response to account

  • 19

    for the necessary reliability of the neural communication to conciliate

    human formulation of meaning.

    3. Inner dynamics at the systemic level of human internal

    organization

    Correlating neural units accrue into schemata and networks. Schemata

    can form speech sound representations, neural networks to be essential

    in speech plans (Puppel, 1992). As already emphasized, the activity is

    part preparatory and is not bound to result in command execution; the

    factor contributes to the difficulty in detecting the exact relationship

    between neural actuation and motor behavior (Vander et al., 1985). The

    neural determinism necessary for speaking and writing requires dynamic

    inner functioning.

    Human language capabilities do not rely on unequivocally a neural

    hierarchy. The neocortex is the tissue of the highest intricacy. However,

    it is the brainstem reticular formation to mediate long-distance neural

    connections, in skill elaborating as well as use. The formation employs

    multisynaptic pathways. Reticular projections influence the nervous

    system at all levels. The brainstem has been indicated for neural

    information processing by ten of the twelve cranial nerves; it coordinates

  • 20

    eye-movement control, cardiovascular and respiratory performance, the

    neural patterns for sleep, as well as wakefulness and focused behavior

    (ibidem).

    Along with relevant cranial nerves, the brainstem helps shape phonation

    and visual language processing. On the other hand, cortical actuation

    can alter the heart rate, blood pressure, or skin conductance, the very

    reticular formation to convey a considerable proportion of the cortical

    impulses to the autonomic level of the human internal structure. With

    focus to language, autonomic activity is prominent in the skeletal and

    smooth muscle contribution to breathing, or pupillary response.

    John I. Lacey's experiments on situational stereotypies in environment

    intake or rejection (in Ciarkowska, 1993) were to examine the

    relationship between the higher and lower levels of the human nervous

    system. Lacey observed cortical activity to influence cardiac output. He

    attributed the effect not only to individual assessment of the concurrent

    experimental context, but also to the anticipatory interworking on the

    expected course of events. Implying a pattern of reaction wider than

    direct response, he explained the influence of intellective faculties over

    autonomic lifework with afferent feedback.

    Engel, Malmo and Shagass (in Ciarkowska, 1993) proceeded further with

    the notion of psychosomatic variance and proposed the term of an

  • 21

    individual stereotypy, to connote individual-specific patterns for human

    neurophysiological response. The researchers stated their unique

    variables corresponded with psychological tasks, which would evidence a

    learned factor to autonomic functioning. Autonomic effectiveness is

    supposed mostly reflex. The stereotypy inner dynamics thus would

    require insight into neural path negotiability.

    4. Multicellular path functioning: a reflex arc

    In the most restricted sense, reflexes are automatic and undeliberated

    behaviors. The typical constituents of a reflex arc are the receptor, the

    afferent pathway, an integrating center, the efferent pathway and the

    effector. Neurophysiological research yet would suggest that "most

    reflexes, no matter how basic they may appear to be, are subject to

    alteration by learning; that is, there is often no clear distinction between

    a basic reflex and one with a learned component" (Vander et al., 1985).

    A sample reflex arc may involve a stimulus to nerve A looped via the

    brain to nerve B. Nerve B may synapse on endocrine gland B1. The gland

    having secreted its hormone, gland C may become stimulated to

    communicate with a muscle by means of a yet another messenger,

    chemical C1, for example. However, it is often difficult to apply standard

    names to arc components. Beside the reflex arc noted structural

  • 22

    diversity, neurochemicals of reflex productiveness have a potential for

    multiple performance.

    Messengers can act as neurotransmitters when released from neuron

    terminals, as hormones or neurohormones when acting via the

    bloodstream, and as paracrines or even autocrines. Vasopressin may

    serve for an example of a multifunctional messenger. A vasoconstrictor in

    homeostatic controls, vasopressin may be released upon change in

    peripheral blood vessel resistance. Connoted with response to stress, it

    has been found to influence learning and memory also in contexts not

    accompanied by psychological pressure (ibidem).

    This would be the natural neural flexibility to allow the merging of

    autonomic and learned patterns, as of individual and situational

    stereotypy. The question to arise is whether voluntary conduct might

    incorporate reflex actuation.

    5. Reflex and voluntary behavior

    Exactness in the use of the term voluntary with regard to live

    structures, man included, has been disputed. Esteeming skill and

    quality, most human behavior would belong somewhere in a continuum

    between the voluntary and the involuntary, rather than within clearly

    defined boundaries of consciously actualized intention (Vander et al.,

    1985).

  • 23

    Walking, for example, compels co-exercise of muscle structures to rely on

    networks of interneurons. The networks operate on neural information

    pools by spinal motor neurons at the local level. Interneurons may work

    as signal changers between afferent and efferent terminals (ibidem).

    The same interneurons may operate on descending command and

    participate in local reflexes. A motor pattern change to follow local

    information is mostly reflex. Locomotion generally contributes to

    cognitive mapping and language.

    The working of the corticospinal and brainstem paths to descend on local

    interneural processing remains mostly outside perception or conscious

    determination. The former connectivity type part manages the fine

    movement in the hand; the latter is essential for positioning and

    movement of the head, especially in response to particular, individually

    relevant phenomena (ibidem). Not only writing, also the fine motor

    behavior of speech acts, though premised to belong with volition, uses a

    substantial amount of established neural patterns.

    At the segmental level, both speech production and perception rely on

    language routines not to need much focus to the fine motor detail, unless

    a disturbance should occur. Antagonistic muscle inhibition as governed

    by elementary neural formations supports the premise (Puppel, 1988).

  • 24

    An outline on motor pattern establishment may broaden the view to

    intended movement in human behavior. Relevant motor patterns require

    relevant neural patterns, generally (Vander et al., 1985). A prospect to

    feedback phenomena and speech would even allow the term of neuro-

    motor-articulatory mastery (Puppel, 1992).

    6. Establishment of relevant neural patterns

    Already at the pattern formative stage, volitional practice cannot be

    labeled as opposed to, or independent of reflex activity. There is no clear

    borderline, on neurophysiological as well as functional grounds, between

    learned and acquired behaviors, that to include speech patterns. The

    operative details of the complex neural loops to mediate motor behavior

    as well as the neural network hidden layers for pattern forming may

    never become uniformly recognized. Some hypotheses concerning the

    mechanisms for motor pattern founding yet have been developed (Vander

    et al., 1985).

    First and foremost, frequency of pattern use has been named a most

    important factor to alter the number or effectiveness of synapses between

    relevant neurons (ibidem). Early stages of motor pattern formation do

    heavily depend on sensory feedback for guidance. Repetitiveness to

  • 25

    encourage the new synaptic use, dependence on feedback gradually

    decreases, to allow greater speed and efficiency. For multisyllabic words,

    for example, skilled movement allows less focus to articulation.

    However much dependence on feedback may diminish with neuro-motor-

    articulatory refinement, the influence never ceases fully. Even for

    established patterns, there remains a comprehensive capacity or even

    demand for multiple inner feedback. Muscles remain under constant

    monitoring, some of the synaptic inputs to be originated not by the

    descending pathways, but by neurons at the same level of the nervous

    system (Puppel, 1992).

    Local receptors monitor muscle length and tonus, to model the muscle

    local feedback. The information is transmitted to the basal ganglia, the

    cerebellum, cerebral motor areas, and integrated with the cortical

    processes that allow comparison with the goal or idea forming function

    for the underlying thought. The sustained inner feedback would have an

    error detecting role: the cortex feeds back with the articulators and may

    command change to an ongoing neuro-motor-articulatory sequence

    (Puppel, 1992, 1994).

    The sustained inner feedback would serve not only error detection. It

    would also help feedforward, the anticipatory sequencing within neuro-

  • 26

    motor-articulatory planning (Puppel, 1992). Established neural patterns

    for speech and language may compare with programs, in their working

    as open-loop sequences. The working can be evidenced for the segmental

    level of natural language, and further compare with reflex behavior. This

    would be the feedforward to allow that speech segments become pre-

    planned, mostly in syllabic scopes, for the articulators to produce smooth

    utterances.

    Unlike in autonomic neural activity, speech and language motor patterns

    belong with intended muscle movement. Governed by the central nervous

    system, they require goal-oriented behavior. Another role of the

    sustained inner feedback is pattern verification and potential for change.

    Even well established language patterns can change, with conscious

    exercise. The volitional, CNS abilities are naturally integrated with

    neurophysiological compensation, which supplements the flexibility.

    7. Neurophysiological compensation

    The number or variety of neural patterns increases with ascent in

    individual hierarchies for refinement, humans to enhance own

    processing capacities along the dimensions of own information flows.

    Neural schemata networking augments individual abilities, and can

    contribute to neurophysiological compensation.

  • 27

    Postural control matters in speaking, writing, as well as listening or

    reading. Kinesthetic and proprioceptive inputs form only part the

    information for the central monitoring structures. Whenever the intra-

    modal adjustability, a feedback-mediated prerogative, fails to compensate

    deficit, the feedback faculties elaborate on paralleled inputs. Distortions

    to proprioceptive or kinesthetic modalities thus tend to result in

    promoted reliance on visual inputs, while limitation to the visual

    modality impels increased attention to tactile, auditory, kinesthetic, and

    proprioceptive types of information. Auricular obstruction encourages

    focus to tactile and visual variables. Compensatory phenomena are not

    exclusive of language.

    Intra-modal adjustability may show in a persons raising his or her voice

    to speak, even if wearing headphones consciously. The elevated auditory

    feedback is to help verify the spoken performance, though own speech

    patterns belong with established scopes. The compensation is part

    instinctive, yet it allows moderation by the cortical levels: aware, persons

    may learn to keep own voices down. Feedback capacities thus can work

    with the ideational levels for speech and language, though relatively less

    is known about the details of their operation (Puppel, 1994). Human

    nervous systems thus would favor pools of inner feedback to accompany

    most neural activity (Vander et al., 1985). A pool model for human

    internal balance can be considered.

  • 28

    8. The pool model for preservation of internal balance

    Homeostasis is the relative inner biochemical equilibrium all live

    organisms tend to protect. The inner condition reflects on the total

    biochemical gain and loss between the organism and the environment,

    inclusive of intra-systemic inputs. In humans, the homeostatic operating

    point is a spectrum of variables to result from the general outcome and

    status of the biochemical interchange, also to be termed the homeostatic

    pool (Vander et al., 1985).

    Human homeostasis works mostly on negative feedback. In

    thermoregulation for example, both increase and decrease in body

    temperature would result in neurophysiological activity to counter

    change. Homeostatic feedforward would anticipate body temperature, the

    thermo-sensitive nerve ends inside the body to sustain a discrepancy

    with receptors in the skin. Most feedforwad would result from learning,

    humans also to be capable of a degree of climatic adaptation.

    Homeostatic operative values never balance error signals fully. The

    difference is to allow a sustained receptor activity (ibidem).

    Inner biochemical equilibrium can influence perceptual and cognitive

    faculties directly, as showing in distortions caused by illness or extrinsic

  • 29

    factor presence. Experiments with sensory deprivation (Lindsay and

    Norman, 1991) would advocate a psychological inquiry into the pool

    model for undisturbed persons. Healthy and otherwise unimpeded

    volunteers exhibited perceptual distortions when limited on own

    peripheral inputs, low-level unvaried stimulation to prove even more

    hallucinogenic than deprivation alone. All volunteers withdrew from the

    experiments, despite financial offers (ibidem).

    Within the pool model, the distortions resulted from a difficulty by the

    nervous system to sustain the spectrum of the operating point wide

    enough for neural controls to work. Sensory deprivation as well as

    continued unvaried stimulation would result in receptor reactivity

    lowering, which would be interpreted for a response within a system to

    operate a spectrum for a threshold. Feedback capacities would be

    indispensable for a supported threshold reference in the nervous system

    to regenerate homeostasis.

    All volunteers having regained balance (ibidem), individual self-

    sustainment would make it imperative for the inner structure to work on

    biological information pools and feed back on spectra of biological

    variables: not even financial offers encouraged further participation.

    Human brainwork and signal specificity come to the foreground, as

    regards inner balance and language.

  • 30

    9. Signal specificity and the human brain

    Human brains are capable of managing spectra as well as individual,

    very specific variables. Phylogenetically distinctive in regions, brains can

    form labile neural networks. A distortion to a constituent of a labile

    formation may result in a spectrum for a response. On the other hand,

    cerebral communication has a significant complementary potential; the

    brain can replace or even void individual, defective variables (Styczek,

    1983).

    Intracerebral consolidation becomes possible with neural radiations and

    projection fibers. Three basic types of fiber tracts are most recognized for

    the integrative work. Associative connectivities communicate areas

    within the same hemisphere; projection processes link the cortex with

    the brainstem, the basal ganglia, the cerebellum, and the spinal cord,

    while transverse fibers intercommunicate the hemispheres, the corpus

    callosum making the most recognized connective (Akmajian et al., 1984).

    The aforesaid brainstem reticulate structure consolidates an interplay of

    several neural subsystems, allowing convergence of descending, local,

    and ascending pathways. Brainstem paths participate in neural network

    learning generally, the reticular formation to mediate also the

    neuromodulation for states of consciousness. Another prominent center

  • 31

    for cortical and subcortical inputs coordination is the thalamus to

    produce the wavelike, rhythmical oscillations in brain activity as

    perceived in EEG patterns (Vander et al., 1985). Thalamic function is

    significant in variable isolation and analysis.

    The cerebellum feeds back with brainstem nuclei as well as the

    neocortex, integrating vestibular information from the ears, eyes,

    muscles, and skin. Cerebellar memory may provide feedforward in

    movement planning and refinement, as well as assist comparison

    between intended and actualized motor sequences (ibidem). Timing

    signals for the neocortex and spinal generators, cerebellar inputs are

    highly specific.

    For areas most widely associated with speech, the Broca is located in the

    frontal lobe, adjacent to the motor strip; it is believed to work in motor

    program choice for speech production. The Wernicke area is located in

    the temporal lobe and participates in the underlying language structure

    formation. The occipital regions to bring sense data from the primary

    visual cortex for the written, and the temporal structures to provide the

    primary auditory data for acoustic forms of language, the parietal tissue

    harmonizes the primary variables, speech potentially to engage trace

    visual representations for lexical items, and written text to have the

    power of invoking trace auditory forms.

  • 32

    Primary receptive areas of the brain neighbor on the gnostic or secondary

    areas to enhance signal interpretation. This is most probably the

    dominant gnostic or secondary auditory area to have the neural

    structures for the acoustic trace forms the Wernicke area can construe

    (Styczek, 1983). The capacity for signal reprocessing would be the

    phonetic buffer as in Puppel (1998), or the echo box as in Lindsay and

    Norman (1991). Managing auditory information pools is vital in

    comprehending spoken discourse.

    The frontal lobes as of the forehead, though reasoned not to have been

    phylogenetically differentiated primarily for language, are vital in goal

    and idea formation and thus recognition. Frontal association areas have

    fibers from the parietal and temporal tissues; they also connect to the

    limbic system. The function helps compare sense data from various

    modalities, and contributes to memory, attention, and language (Vander

    et al., 1985).

    Neural specificity for speech and goal-oriented behavior is encouraged by

    cranial nerves. The nerves can be classed with concern to immediacy of

    effect on spoken discourse (Styczek, 1983). Seven, namely the trigeminal,

    glossopharyngeal, hypoglossal, facial, auditory or vestibulocochlear,

    accessory, and vagus fibers take part in shaping speech production

  • 33

    directly. The four other, the optic, oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens

    pairs sustain a less straightforward, yet influence. The trigeminal, facial,

    glossopharyngeal, vagus, abducens, and trochlear nerves consist of both

    motor and sensory fibers, thus qualifying for feedback connectivities

    thoroughly (Vander et al., 1985).

    As a closed-loop effectiveness, feedback is part any speech act. Two basic

    types of feedback can be recognized to secure the course, the

    interoceptive and exteroceptive modalities. The interoceptive loops would

    work for tactile, as well as proprioceptive and kinesthetic information, of

    also cognitive mapping valence. The exteroceptive loops would process

    mostly auditory and visual inputs. The monitoring capabilities are part

    reflex and do not become inactive for mental language processing.

    Significantly, language activity constitutes the strongest single factor to

    integrate the functioning of the entire brain.

    There is no manner or method strictly to delimit the neural paths to work

    in language production from those to participate in language perception

    or mental processing (Vander et al., 1985). Standard language use

    requires medically unaltered consciousness, as well as operating

    grammatical scopes, simultaneously with variables of cognitive validity.

    Processing of speech and language information thus would involve inputs

  • 34

    on all available sensory modalities, along with specifics from the

    sophisticated neural network schemata for intellectual performance. In

    the light, a notion of a human language faculty is proposed to embrace

    human neurophysiological capacity for linguistic elaboration. The term

    becomes necessary with regard to the limitations a view to Wernicke or

    Broca areas exclusively would bring.

    Interoceptive or exteroceptive feedback are only classes in which to

    organize observations on the senses, palpation to belong with

    exteroception. Also a dual model may represent feedback in

    conversational contexts. The feedback loops are not visualized according

    to their interoceptive or exteroceptive nature, but thinking about their

    egocentric or environmental orientation. The egocentric loop would

    represent human self-monitoring capacities, the environmental loop to

    symbolize exchange within an environment.

    Figure 1. The generalized dual-loop feedback model for language

    processing in conversational exchange.

  • 35

    Intra-personally as well inter-personally, the notion of a feedback loop

    cannot be comprehended for parallel with that of a closed circuit or mere

    reiteration of instructions. The self-oriented loop in human speech can

    be thought to consist of the articulators, the speech sound medium, the

    ear, the primary auditory cortex, and the secondary areas to reiterate

    signal, yet before its further elaboration by the brain. In a conversational

    context, the environmental loop may stand for linguistic interaction,

    without which contemporaneous verbal behavior would be that of

    monologuing individuals.

    Feedback performance in language thus would be a biological and

    psychological factor, rather than a physical process for control of

    automatic workings. Along the inquiry, feedback phenomena have been

    found in the single neuron, as well as language capable network

    schemata in the brain, auditory compensation to evidence connected

    feedback abilities.

    10. Conclusions

    Natural language is a prerequirement for teaching or learning any

    scholarly skill. Human linguistic, as well as scientific and logical

    competences cannot become of performance in detachment from the

    nervous system. Positioning of natural language within an information

  • 36

    processing perspective to solicit a processing structure, the human

    nervous system meets the expectation in everyday practice. Further

    important aspects of information processing are those of processing of

    options, an information pool, a program, signal specificity, and use of

    feedback.

    The all-or-none cellular actuation is an option. However, the neural

    activity for speech and language is compound, action or graded potential.

    Language as a coordinated nerve, muscle, and cognitive scope thus uses

    options, yet it motivates a pool model for language information, speech

    and language observably not to be option-ridden. The nervous system

    ignores singular action potentials by a biological default; individual

    neurons are not predetermined to produce signals, isolated cell incitation

    to have given inconclusive results (Vander et al., 1985).

    In management of information pools, human brains are genetically

    predisposed for language. However, particular language uses are not

    prescribed by DNA programs, humans of various origins to remain able

    to learn languages as well as language structures and styles of choice.

    Closed-loop, feedback phenomena are part every neuro-motor-

    articulatory pattern build. The resultant open-loop sequences can

    compare with programs, yet remain limited to the segmental level of

    speech and language.

  • 37

    In a basic sense, signal specificity can be observed in speech sound or

    letter shape forming and perceiving. In a broad sense, linguistic

    specificity can help view feedback as an initially biological phenomenon

    functionally to expand into inner or interpersonal communication.

    Feedback can be found in cellular as well as systemic functioning by

    principle. The present quest along the human internal hierarchy began

    with the single cell and concluded with the brain, as the highest level for

    internal equilibrium. Not only cellular functioning would be impossible

    without a feedback process. A frame for relatively autonomous organ

    subsets in the linguistically variform earthly environment, the human

    bodily makeup uses feedback to build and model neural patterns for

    language generally.

    Conformity with regard to the postulations of a processing system, use of

    options, information pools, programs, as well as signal specificity and

    feedback function having been achieved, differences between humans

    and artificial intelligence deserve emphasis, particularly on the

    proportion as well as nature of option or program use. The subsequent

    chapter brings a discussion of the role of feedback in language learning.