The following link is to an article discussing the ways in which experts in phonetics have different brain structures from lay people. As we begin to study phonetics ourselves, I thought this might motivate us to concentrate REALLY hard. :)
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/650835.html
I wonder what our brains would look like, particularly yours, if we were to get an MRI. Were the phoneticians' future already decided for them? How weird to think about. If phoneticians decided on another career path, how well would they preform it? I wish they would have furthered the study!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sam! I hope more research is published about this interesting phenomena. I wonder how many people unhappy with their job need to storm out and become experts in phonetics...
ReplyDeleteWell, as I freely admit that I am NOT an expert phonetician, I'm pretty sure my MRI wouldn't be too exciting. However, as you both suggest, it is intersting to think about how much of the actual brain difference is the result of phonetic training and how much originally existed, perhaps leading certain individuals to careers in phonetics. Here is the link to the original article in "The Journal of Neuoscince" in cass you want to read futher.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/11/4213.full?sid=aa81e4cf-a39f-440b-9d02-3179b506d0b3
Great comments!