Current research on the contributions of neurobiology to the understanding of language, and more specifically of phonics, is reviewed. After an introductory section, the second section provides a brief historic perspective on neurolinguistic research, beginning in the early nineteenth century. The third section focuses on what is known about the connection between the evolution of the human brain and the development of human language. Section four describes the physical composition and functioning of the brain, and the subsequent section identifies and discusses studies of the language zones. Issues specific to aphasiology, as distinguished from general neurolinguistics, are then discussed, and related technical terminology is defined. Major research in the last 20 years concerning the phonic aspects of neurolinguistics is reviewed, and the final section offers a model of the neurological function of phonics. A substantial bibliography is appended. (MSE)