[Verse 1] In the depths where memories collide Two systems wage their ancient fight Hippocampus holds the lexicon tight While basal ganglia builds the rules from sight Declarative storage, word by word Procedural patterns, grammar's heard The caudate and putamen spin their dance Teaching sequences through repetition's trance [Chorus] Memory splits the language load Hippocampus stores what's shown Basal ganglia builds the code Grammar's path through circuits grown Declarative holds the exceptions fast Procedural makes the patterns last Two systems learning side by side Where neuroscience and language collide [Verse 2] Watch the child say "went" and "feet" Memorizing whole forms complete Then the rule extraction starts its reign "Goed" and "foots" mark procedural gain Overregularization's the telltale sign Procedural system's crossing the line Before declarative reasserts its hold Balance emerges as the story's told [Chorus] Memory splits the language load Hippocampus stores what's shown Basal ganglia builds the code Grammar's path through circuits grown Declarative holds the exceptions fast Procedural makes the patterns last Two systems learning side by side Where neuroscience and language collide [Bridge] Frontal cortex joins the procedural crew With premotor regions pushing through Same circuits that learn to ride and throw Make grammar feel like automated flow Putamen loops with prefrontal might Sequence learning burning bright While MTL keeps arbitrary pairs Form-meaning bonds in memory's layers [Verse 3] The model's gradient, not a wall Hippocampus helps with patterns after all Cerebellum times the smooth cascade Prediction and rhythm, perfectly made Thalamic relays connect the crew Grammar systems working through Ullman's framework lights the way Though interaction rules the day [Verse 4] When damage strikes the basal core Parkinson's patients struggle more With complex syntax, rules that bend On declarative they must depend But when the temporal lobe is scarred Irregular forms hit twice as hard While regular patterns still flow free Procedural memory holds the key [Chorus] Memory splits the language load Hippocampus stores what's shown Basal ganglia builds the code Grammar's path through circuits grown Declarative holds the exceptions fast Procedural makes the patterns last Two systems learning side by side Where neuroscience and language collide [Outro] From motor skills to grammar's art The same machinery plays its part Unconscious, automatic, native and true That's how procedural sees it through [Chorus] Memory splits the language load Hippocampus stores what's shown Basal ganglia builds the code Grammar's path through circuits grown Declarative holds the exceptions fast Procedural makes the patterns last Two systems learning side by side Where neuroscience and language collide
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