From objective to subjective in language
Introduction: The aim of this research was to verify the hypothesis that dyslexia and disturbances in language learning depend on perceptive deficits according to the new Theory of the Cognitive Process by A. Bernardini. For these reasons it is necessary to summarize it below in order to understand this study.
The new theory of the Cognitive Process by A. Bernardini is based on the following principles:
1) – The Theory of Cognitive Psychology, that considers the cognitive process as the mental process that develops from the elaboration of the energy stimulus coming from the external space.
2)- As a result of my work in the field of physical education, I came to the conclusion that the CNS elaborates the energy of the external space as muscular energy of the internal space according to the two aspects of energy – quantum and wave-.
On the light of my research, the cognitive process must be considered as the mental process that develops from the elaboration of the energy stimulus coming from the external and internal space in their continuous correlation. Therefore, the motor process/elaboration of the energy stimulus and the cognitive process are the same.
To be able to assess the ratio between the quantum mechanics and the wave mechanics in the unit of time, in order to localize a particle in space, a reference system and a constant are needed. The body is the reference system on which quantum mechanics produces a wave mechanics and proprioception is the constant which allows assessment of their ratio. (A. Bernardini’s Theory).
3)- Electro-physiological theory by R.LLinas.
4)-theory of the hemispheric differences by Sergent and Colg., which I gave my personal interpretation; that is: the difference consists on the different specialization of hemispheres on elaborating the two different frequencies of the two aspect of energy stimulus (RH wave low frequencies, LH quantum high frequencies).
5)-Theory of the Neural Group Selection by G.M.Gerald.
6)- (Principle of Stereo-photogrammetry). The information registered every thousandth of a second on the reference system sets off a continuum of spatial images or starting positions – Each of those is generated by the previous one (afferent phase) and determines the succeeding one (efferent phase).
According to my research, the elaboration of information in order to go from one starting position to the next, corresponds to the most elementary form of the cognitive process which can be divided into three phases:
-a)- perceptive/afferent phase (from objective to subjective)
-b)- elaboration of information (passage from objective to subjective)
-c)- efferent phase/re-utilization of information.( passage from subjective to objective or answer)
To better understand what we are going to see further on, it is necessary to consider wave= intuition/intentionality, quantum= information/basic rules which have to be put in the wave all closely correlated.
1st PHASE
It is made up by: 1) elaboration of the energy coming from the two spaces, 2) Elaboration of the two aspects of energy of the two spaces
1) elaboration of the energy coming from the two spaces:
a)- The information of the external space, conveyed by the visual modality, is registered on the reference system of the retina in accordance with two axes (vertical and horizontal). The vertical axis distinguishes information on the right and left visual hemi-field, the horizontal axis distinguishes information regarding two opposite points of view.
b)- The information of the internal space, conveyed by the somatosensory modality, undergoes the same registration on the reference system, made up of body segments. The vertical axis distinguishes information in the right and the left side of the body, the horizontal axis distinguishes information according to two opposite points of application of force.
On the basis of the settlement of the point of fixation and the point of origin of movement, the visual and somatosensory information can align in the unit of time. The fixation point and the point of the origin of movement conforms with the meeting point between the vertical axis and the horizontal axis of the reference system that is common to the two modalities.
2) Elaboration of the two aspects of energy of the two spaces
Each hemisphere, on the basis of its own competence elaborates only one type of frequency stimulus of the contra-lateral side and of the contra-lateral visual hemi-field, relative to only one point of fixation and of force application.(LH elaborates the high frequency-quantum-, RH elaborates the low frequency-wave)
So, the afferent phase of the information ends with two complementary neural pathways. Neither is sufficient to define the three-dimensionality of the information in order to determine the response of the next starting position.
(3rd PHASE)
This/The next starting position will be defined only when, in the efferent phase and on the basis of the subject’s intentionality, the two complementary pathways are again inverted into the opposite direction on the directional axes and the information is transcribed in a new sequence;
However, to be re-utilized in the efferent phase information must be memorized abstracted and generalized in the second phase; consciousness, motivation, attention, logical thinking, creativity will be possible only if, in the second phase the passage from objective to subjective will take place
2 PHASE –
According to my theory, the synchronism of information is the crucial condition for its memorization. This means that: 1)- the energy of the two spaces is elaborated as the energy of a single space. The energy of the external space becomes part of the body and visual maps, the information memorized enter our consciousness (that is : the passage from objective to subjective).
2)- the two complementary pathways, which are separately elaborated in the two hemispheres, can belong to the same image (R. Llinas) in their reversal on the directional axes.
The synchronism depends on:
1) – repetitiveness of the motor subjective experience (TNGS) Edelman.
2) – Hedonic Centres (biochemical mechanism, genetic makes up).
The biochemical mechanisms, on the basis of the motor experience establish the speed of synapses and determine their synchronism. (correlation between physiological and psychological process)
3 )- no “out time” information enters memory, it remains unconscious and creates perceptive, cognitive faults (attention, memory, psychological problems).
Materials and methods
This study is based on an experimental project carried out in Italy, in pre-high school education. In the Italian Education System, students with moderate learning abilities and special needs are integrated into mainstream education supported by remedial teachers. The aim was to verify the hypothesis that: dyslexia depends on perceptive deficits and to compare two different methodologies for treating it: A. Bernardini’s method and the current methodology. To this end, the performances of F 81 subjects were examined. They were divided into two groups: the first supported by A. Bernardini’s method, the second supported by a remedial teacher (traditional method), the control group being the rest of the class. For five months, tailored programs were followed three times a week, for one hour and a half. Performance levels were assessed at the beginning and end of the treatment by means of tests in common which are shown in tables one, two and three. At the end of treatment, the F 81 sabjects, supported by traditional methods did not show significant results, while the F 81 subjects supported by A. Bernardini’s method, showed a marked improvement. Among them Tobia was the student who best represented dyslexia; for this reason he has been taken as an example for this report
The Subject and method
Tobia is a boy of eleven. He has a twin brother; both have visual defect and difficulties in learning but with different characteristics. Tobia’s main disturbances is dyslexia but initial tests showed further learning and behavioural disturbances such as: poor attention, surplus speech, continuous arousal and difficulties in logical thinking. On the basis of the perceptive deficits, the re-educative program was planned and applied in accordance with A. Bernardini’s method. The treatment applied was especially significant for the perception of the conventional communicative shape through proprioceptive and auditive information. This gave us proof that, the last is faulty as well as the visual information. For that, to re-educate/synchronize auditive and visual information by means of somatosensory information was our goal.
Results After only five months of the treatment, Tobia showed marked improvement in reading and in writing. He was able to pay more attention and he no longer displayed arousal.
Performance levels were assessed at the beginning and at the end of treatment. They are summed up on tables I, II, III as the follows:
Table I: results of the neuropsychological testing
| Initial score | Final score | |
| Phrase construction | 15 | 30 |
| Word fluency | 14 | 20 |
| Immediate recall of Rey’s 15 words | 41 | 45 |
| Delayed recall of Rey’s 15 words | 15 | 25 |
| Raven’s progressive stained matrices | 26 | 36 |
| Immediate visual memory | 19 | 25 |
| Freehand copying of drawings | 10 | 30 |
| Coping drawings with landmarks | 65 | 75 |
Tables II and III show the scores obtained by means of the original tests. The performance level was assessed on a scale of 0 to 5. Three is the level of acceptability.
Table II: results of motor testing
| Initial score | Final score | |
| Visual distance assessment point A to point B | 1 | 4 |
| Visual and proprioceptive distance point A to point B and backwards to point A again | 2 | 4 |
| dominance | 2 | 3 |
| equilibrium | 2 | 3 |
| Daily activities | 3 | 4 |
Table III: results of graphic-constructive testing
| Initial score | Final score | |
| Drawing one’s own body | 1 | 4 |
| Drawing the external world | 1 | 4 |
| To single out a geometrical shape and to reproduce its perimeter with small objects | 2 | 4 |
| To identify a geometrical shape and reproduce it on paper. | 3 | 5 |
Discussion: Our assumption is the following: language originates from the necessity of giving a name to the perceived object in order to establish a communicative act; that is: 1) to perceive the object, 2) to perceive its conventional communicative shape/name. Bearing in mind that the CNS elaborates information in accordance with the one item that repeats itself and overlaps in an abstract and generalized way, (starting position by starting position), we will now consider the language according to our theory.
The first item (perception of the object)
In the perceptive phase (from objective to subjective), the high frequencies of the quantum define the object, the low frequencies of the wave define its use/handling. Actually, it is the use/wave that establishes the meaning of the perceived object (the language’s semantic aspect). Indeed, in conformity with the mother tongue, the same object/quantum changes name (because it is conventional) but its use always remains the same;
THE OBJECT/quantum + ITS USE/MEANING/wave = NAME/word/language.
Therefore, every word is the conventional shape/answer (from subjective to objective) of the perceived object. It originates from the elaboration of the two aspects of energy of the internal and external space. It is possible to understand the communicative information which it conveys only if the object (LH) and its use/handling (RH) have been perceived in the unit of time on the reference systems in phase one and two of the Cognitive Process (THIS ITEM IS NOT AFFECTED IN DYSLEXIC CHILDREN)
The second item (perception of the written word)
In turn, the word/name represented by the conventional written shape is made up by the spatial movement of the line (wave) that originates the name/word of the correspondent object in accordance with the temporal order of the vowels and consonants. In their turn, the vowels and consonants are made up by the spatial movement of the line/wave which is defined by dots/quantum all closely correlated. (THIS IS THE ITEM AFFECTED IN DYSLEXIC CHILDREN ,
The information of the written conventional shape, because it is conventional/objective, is conveyed by the visual modality. As mentioned above, Tobia has a visual defect, therefore, the visual information cannot align with the proprioceptive information on the reference system in the unit of time; that is: it no longer belongs to the image (vowel, consonant, word) which generated it in its reversal on the reference system. This gives rise to the perceptive deficits in reading and writing. Because the visual and auditory information is mapped in the same order, the perceptive deficits also appear in auditory information (spoken word).
The altered perception of the conventional written shape of the word leads these subjects to give wrong answers in enunciation, in writing, and in reading with the consequent misunderstanding of the word, sentence, text and so on….
Perceptive difficulties can appear in different ways and/or in co-morbidity: dyscalculia (this is not the matter of this paper), dyslexia, dysgraphia, grammar mistakes, difficulties in text understanding, difficulties in summarizing the text content whose message is not understood. Also, these subjects display arousal, attention difficulties and are slow readers.
If, in accordance with the new theory of the Cognitive Processs by A. Bernardini, we read the clinical literature, it gives useful examples in support of our statements. In the RHD subjects only the object (high frequencies) is perceived in a conscious way; on the contrary, in the LHD subjects only the use/handling (low frequencies) is perceived in a conscious way. However, in both cases the perception is meaningless; the subject is not able to match the object to its use, does not understand its meaning, and is not able to give the required answer. In virtue of the one item the CNS uses in information processing, what has been highlighted in the clinical field, can be checked in the educational field.
Let’s take into account reading difficulties in normal subjects as an example. At the beginning of their educational course, they read but are unable to understand what they are reading. Their attention is focused on decoding the written conventional shape which defines the name (the elaboration of the low frequencies RH is prevalent). Then, as a consequence of their repeated exercise of the task, they become able to elaborate in the unit of time both low and high frequencies of information. This make them able to understand what they are reading.
The same thing happens, for example, when they have to learn a foreign language. In this case, however, other observations are necessary as we are going to see further on. They are able to read and understand what they are reading only after accomplishing the first step as above mentioned, but they are not yet able to understand the spoken word. To further confirm our theory, this can be explained by the fact that the written word, allows longer times of information processing than the spoken word. In addition to this the pronunciation does not correspond to the written word. Therefore, until the visual, auditive and somatosensory information of the two aspects of energy of the internal and external space is elaborated in the same unit of time on the reference systems, they are unable to understand in a complete way the language they are learning.
Children with perceptive difficulties, like Tobia as above mentioned, are unable or have big difficulties in learning a foreign language. In these subjects the difficulty in decoding the word in the mother tongue prevents them from transferring the meaning of the word which they do not yet understand to the corresponding one in the foreign language.
What we have so far discussed, once again, points out that to be able to give a meaning to the objective/conventional communicative shape (answer phase three) it is necessary that objective information synchronizes with subjective information/somatosensory; that is: the objective becomes subjective. For this reason, we think that the objective neuroimaging information is not useful for recovering perceptive deficits and the definition of the mirror neurons must be reconsidered (G. Rizzolatti; C. Sinigaglia “so quel che fai, il cervello che agisce e i neuroni a specchio”; edit. R. Cortina – Milano 2011). As we already asserted: A.Bernardini ”New Theory of the Cognitive Process – the body as the main tool to recover cognitive deficits ” 7th WCNR Melbourne (2012), they are the neurons of the two aspects of energy (quantum and wave) of the internal and external space which fire in the unit of time in the left and the right hemispheres as a consequence of the perceptive phase. So, to recover perceptive defects and disturbance in language learning it is necessary to shift our investigation in phases one and two of the cognitive process as our experiment demonstrated.
If, as further confirmation of our theory, we take into consideration the perception of the conventional communicative shape in blind subjects and in deaf-mute subjects we realize that this is made possible by only one modality which conveys information of the external space (in virtue of their same mapping order), hearing and sight respectively, in addition to the perception of one’s internal space. This last becomes the key information for both perception of the object (first item) and perception of the conventional communicative shape (second item): Brail and Sign Language respectively. In fact, as a consequence of the passage from objective to subjective in virtue of the one item and the abstract and generalized shape of information processing, the CNS elaborates the answer by language: spoken, written, sign language and so on.
To summarize, the perception of one’s internal space is crucial for perceiving and interacting with the external world, also through language. In the light of what we have so far discussed, an explanation can also be given to the difficulties in speech, logical thinking and social relationship with the external world in autistic subjects; in fact, they are unable to perceive their own internal space as we demonstrated in our article “ autism a new perspective” proceeding of the 11th EFRR Congress – Minerva Medica (2011).
Conclusions: This study leads us to conclude that: first, dyslexia and disturbances in language learning depend on perceptive deficits and can be recovered by A. Bernardini’s method, second a new and more accurate way to diagnose F 81 subjects is possible, third the definition of the mirror neurons must be reconsidered, finally our theory and its relevant re-educative methodology revolutionizes the principles of the current teaching methods and those of current scientific research. They mainly rely on objective information in order to recover cognitive deficits; but, as so far discussed, this type of information is not useful. We hope that both the educational and re-educational fields agree with us and take into consideration our new theory of the Cognitive Process.
SIAE registration n. 2014003343 – 13th november 2014.
Bibliography
Book
Alba Bernardini “la motricità, dall’oggettivo al soggettivo nel processo cognitivo e riabilitativo” – printed by La Giuntina – Florence – (2008).
Edelman Gerald M. “bright air, brilliant fire on the matter of the mind” basic books (1992).
Llinas R. R “Perception as an oneiric-like state modulated by the senses, “ in large-scale neural theories of the brain, ed. C. Koch and J. Davis MA:MIT press Cambridge, (1994).
Sally p. Springer; George Deutsch.” Left brain right brain” -Freeman worth – New York (2003)
Giacomo Rizzolatti ; Corrado Sinigaglia “So quell che fai –il cervello che agisce e I neuroni a specchio-” Raffaello Cortina ed. Milano 2011.
Journal articles
Sergent J. Hellige J. B., “role of input factors in visual-field asymmetry”, brain and cognition 5. 174-179.(1986).
Alba Bernardini “Autism a new perspective” Proceedings of the 11° EFRR Congress; -49- 58; Minerva Medica (2011).