FOXP2 in focus: what can genes tell us about speech and language?

Abstract

The human capacity for acquiring speech and language must derive, at least in part, from the genome. In 2001, a study described the first case of a gene, FOXP2, which is thought to be implicated in our ability to acquire spoken language. In the present article, we discuss how this gene was discovered, what it might do, how it relates to other genes, and what it could tell us about the nature of speech and language development. We explain how FOXP2 could, without being specific to the brain or to our own species, still provide an invaluable entry-point into understanding the genetic cascades and neural pathways that contribute to our capacity for speech and language.

Ultrasonic vocalization impairment of Foxp2 (R552H) knockin mice related to speech-language disorder and abnormality of Purkinje cells

“…The affected members in the KE family have impairment of coordinated movements that are required for speech (verbal and orofacial dyspraxia) and impairment of speech and verbal comprehension (dysphasia) (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). The homozygous Foxp2 (R552H)-KI mice (P8-P10) along with the homozygous Foxp2-KO mice showed severe motor abnormalities, such as decreased spontaneous activity and sudden irregular and discoordinated movements.…”

“…The KE family consists of three generations in which approximately half of the members (15 members) have severe articulation difficulties accompanied by verbal and orofacial impairments. The speech difficulties cannot be fully attributed to the basic impairment of orofacial praxis; the affected KE members normally perform single simple oral movements but have trouble with language comprehension, including grammar as well as production (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Recent studies in the KE family identified the forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) gene as the responsible genetic factor and found that a missense mutation (R553H) in the forkhead domain of FOXP2 cosegregates with the disorder in this family (2)(3)(4)(5).…”

Intronic miRNA miR-3666 Modulates its Host Gene FOXP2 Functions in Neurodevelopment and May Contribute to Pathogenesis of Neurological Disorders Schizophrenia and Autism

“…It is expressed at high levels in the developing brain, with lower expression in various parts of the human brain. Besides the brain, it is expresses in the lungs and gut as well [40,41]. Although FOXP2 has extensive expression in the developing brain, a quite low expression in the adult brain [42] suggests that the expression of FOXP2 is developmentally regulated.…”

Cognitive architecture and descent with modification☆

“…The speech and language disorder found in the British KE family (Gopnik & Crago, 1991;Vargha-Khadem et al, 1998) arguably comes closest, since recent evidence directly ties that disorder to a particular gene, FOXP2 (Fisher, Vargha-Khadem, Watkins, Monaco, & Pembrey, 1998;Lai, Fisher, Hurst, Vargha-Khadem, & Monaco, 2001) but the particular disorder in that family also affects non-linguistic aspects of orofacial motor control (for a review, see Marcus & Fisher, 2003).…”