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Wernicke’s area is a structure of the brain that is believed to be involved in language comprehension, specifically the comprehension of speech sounds. It is also considered to be the receptive language center of the brain.
In the majority of people, Wernicke’s area is located within the left cerebral hemisphere, specifically near the back of thetemporal lobe.
The exact location of Wernicke’s area is still debated, although it is typically thought to be near a large groove known as the lateral sulcus, near the junction between theparietaland the temporal lobes.
Wernicke’s Area Vs Broca’s Area
Function
While the exact boundaries and functions of Wenicke’s area remain subjects of ongoing research and debate, research has found some functions this area may play a role in:
Damage
Carl Wernicke discovered that damage to the posterior region of the superior temporal gyrus resulted in a distinct type of aphasia.
Symptoms of Wernicke’s aphasia include:
The understanding of damage to Wernicke’s area has been refined over the years. The exact location and extent of damage leading to Wernicke’s aphasia can vary, suggesting a more distributed language network.
Isolated damage to Wernicke’s area that spares underlying white matter may not always cause severe receptive aphasia (DeWitt & Rauschecker, 2013).
Likewise, some patients with lesions in classical Wernicke’s area have shown relatively intact word comprehension, indicating other regions may also contribute to this function (DeWitt & Rauschecker, 2013).
This highlights the complexity of language processing in the brain and the ongoing refinement of our understanding of Wernicke’s area and its associated aphasia.
Discovery
Around the time of Wernicke’s Area discovery, neuroscientists were trying to understand a new perspective of the brain.
Few suggested that the cerebral hemispheres of the brain were not equal in terms of function and that the left hemisphere performed different roles than the right hemisphere and vice versa.
Through post-mortem examinations, Broca discovered that there was damage to an area in the left hemisphere in these individuals, which is named Broca’s area.
However, the issues with these patients differed from Broca’s patients as they could produce speech but could not comprehend language. These individuals would speak fluently but with disordered speech, impaired understanding of speech, and impaired silent reading.
When examining the brains of these patients, it was discovered that there was a lesion at the junction of the parietal, temporal, andoccipital lobesin the left cerebral hemisphere, which he coined Wernicke’s Area.
How Did This Discovery Impact Psychology?
Wernicke’s discovery had a profound impact on the field of psychology, particularly in advancing the concept oflateralization of brain functions.
By identifying a specific area in the left hemisphere crucial for language comprehension, Wernicke provided strong evidence against the then-prevalent holistic view of brain function.
This work, along with Broca’s earlier findings, was instrumental in establishing the idea that different cognitive functions are localized to specific brain regions, predominantly in one hemisphere.
Wernicke’s contribution thus played a key role in shaping our understanding of the brain’s functional organization and laid the groundwork for modern neurolinguistics.
ReferencesBuchsbaum, B. R., Baldo, J., Okada, K., Berman, K. F., Dronkers, N., D’Esposito, M., & Hickok, G. (2011). Conduction aphasia, sensory-motor integration, and phonological short-term memory–an aggregate analysis of lesion and fMRI data.Brain and language, 119(3), 119-128.Binder, J. R. (2015). The Wernicke area: Modern evidence and a reinterpretation.Neurology, 85(24), 2170-2175.DeWitt, I., & Rauschecker, J. P. (2013). Wernicke’s area revisited: parallel streams and word processing.Brain and language,127(2), 181-191.Friederici, A. D. (2012). The cortical language circuit: from auditory perception to sentence comprehension.Trends in cognitive sciences,16(5), 262-268.Hickok, G., & Poeppel, D. (2007). The cortical organization of speech processing.Nature reviews neuroscience,8(5), 393-402.Rauschecker, J. P. (2011). An expanded role for the dorsal auditory pathway in sensorimotor control and integration.Hearing research,271(1-2), 16-25.Further InformationKniermin J. Neuroscience online: an electronic textbook for the neurosciences. Chapter 5: Cerebellum. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.Binder, J. R. (2015). The Wernicke area: Modern evidence and a reinterpretation. Neurology, 85(24), 2170-2175.
References
Buchsbaum, B. R., Baldo, J., Okada, K., Berman, K. F., Dronkers, N., D’Esposito, M., & Hickok, G. (2011). Conduction aphasia, sensory-motor integration, and phonological short-term memory–an aggregate analysis of lesion and fMRI data.Brain and language, 119(3), 119-128.Binder, J. R. (2015). The Wernicke area: Modern evidence and a reinterpretation.Neurology, 85(24), 2170-2175.DeWitt, I., & Rauschecker, J. P. (2013). Wernicke’s area revisited: parallel streams and word processing.Brain and language,127(2), 181-191.Friederici, A. D. (2012). The cortical language circuit: from auditory perception to sentence comprehension.Trends in cognitive sciences,16(5), 262-268.Hickok, G., & Poeppel, D. (2007). The cortical organization of speech processing.Nature reviews neuroscience,8(5), 393-402.Rauschecker, J. P. (2011). An expanded role for the dorsal auditory pathway in sensorimotor control and integration.Hearing research,271(1-2), 16-25.Further InformationKniermin J. Neuroscience online: an electronic textbook for the neurosciences. Chapter 5: Cerebellum. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.Binder, J. R. (2015). The Wernicke area: Modern evidence and a reinterpretation. Neurology, 85(24), 2170-2175.
Buchsbaum, B. R., Baldo, J., Okada, K., Berman, K. F., Dronkers, N., D’Esposito, M., & Hickok, G. (2011). Conduction aphasia, sensory-motor integration, and phonological short-term memory–an aggregate analysis of lesion and fMRI data.Brain and language, 119(3), 119-128.
Binder, J. R. (2015). The Wernicke area: Modern evidence and a reinterpretation.Neurology, 85(24), 2170-2175.
DeWitt, I., & Rauschecker, J. P. (2013). Wernicke’s area revisited: parallel streams and word processing.Brain and language,127(2), 181-191.
Friederici, A. D. (2012). The cortical language circuit: from auditory perception to sentence comprehension.Trends in cognitive sciences,16(5), 262-268.
Hickok, G., & Poeppel, D. (2007). The cortical organization of speech processing.Nature reviews neuroscience,8(5), 393-402.
Rauschecker, J. P. (2011). An expanded role for the dorsal auditory pathway in sensorimotor control and integration.Hearing research,271(1-2), 16-25.
Further InformationKniermin J. Neuroscience online: an electronic textbook for the neurosciences. Chapter 5: Cerebellum. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.Binder, J. R. (2015). The Wernicke area: Modern evidence and a reinterpretation. Neurology, 85(24), 2170-2175.
Further Information
Kniermin J. Neuroscience online: an electronic textbook for the neurosciences. Chapter 5: Cerebellum. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.Binder, J. R. (2015). The Wernicke area: Modern evidence and a reinterpretation. Neurology, 85(24), 2170-2175.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
