Vygotsky, Luria, and the social brain

Owing to transformations accompanying internalization, private speech is already functionally and formally distinct from social speech, necessitating refinement of predictive processing models of inner speech that conceive of it as attenuated social speech.

“Owing to the transformations accompanying internalization [94], private speech will already be functionally and formally distinct from its precursor, social speech, thus necessitating the refinement of predictive processing models of IS that conceive of it as attenuated social speech.”

In Vygotsky's theory, inner speech develops in childhood through the gradual internalization of linguistically mediated exchanges with others, allowing the individual to employ language previously used to regulate the behavior of others in the autoregulation of cognition and behavior.

“In Vygotsky's theory [6,93], IS develops in childhood through the gradual internalization of linguistically mediated exchanges with others, allowing the individual to begin to employ language previously used to regulate the behavior of others in the autoregulation of cognition and behavior”

Conceptualizing inner speech as a functional system provides a neurocognitive model for understanding how the core language system can interact with other neural systems to flexibly augment processes such as social cognition, executive functioning, and autobiographical memory.

“More generally, conceptualizing IS as a functional system provides a neurocognitive model for understanding how the core language system can interact with other neural systems to flexibly augment a range of processes such as social cognition, executive functioning, and autobiographical memory [94,126,127].”

Talking silently to oneself can enhance cognition.

“Vygotsky's [6,93] original conception of such language as a 'psychological tool' has been supported by a wealth of empirical evidence that talking silently to oneself can enhance cognition.”

Prelinguistic intelligence is reshaped by language to create a "functional system."

“Prelinguistic intelligence is thus reshaped by language to create what Vygotsky and his student Luria termed a “functional system,” a key concept in their antimodularist view of functional localization in the brain (Fernyhough, 2010; Luria, 1965; Vygotsky, 1934/1987).”

A functional systems approach entails shifting relations among constituent neural systems over the course of development, which will not necessarily represent their eventual pattern of interaction in adulthood.

“A functional systems approach thus entails shifting relations among constituent neural systems over the course of development which will not necessarily represent their eventual pattern of interaction in adulthood (Fernyhough, 2010).”