Broca and Wernicke
Morelia Garcia
Mrs. Southard
AP Psychology, 2A
October 2014
Essay Response
Paul Broca was a French surgeon and anatomist. He is best known for his research on
Broca’s area, a region of the frontal lobe, which has been named after him. Broca’s area is involved with articulated language. His work revealed that the brains of patients suffering from aphasia contained lesions in a particular part of the cortex, the left frontal region. Broca is celebrated for his discovery of the speech production center of the brain.
Carl Wernicke is credited with major discoveries in brain anatomy and pathology. He, on the other hand, introduced the concept that brain deficiencies were directly related to regions of the cerebral cortex. He also was one of the first to hypothesize a correlation between neurological pathways connection to regions of the brain and brain functioning. His work also was one of the first to establish the concept of right and left cerebral dominance.
Aphasia is a communication disorder that results from damage or injury to language parts of the brain. Both Broca and Wernicke established different types of aphasia with their symptoms and lesion sites. Broca’s aphasia, also known as expressive aphasia, is characterized by the loss of the ability to produce language (spoken or written). With expressive aphasia, the person knows what he or she wants to say, yet has difficulty communicating it to others.
Wernicke’s aphasia, also known as receptive aphasia, is a type of aphasia associated with neurological damage to one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex. With receptive aphasia, the person can hear a voice or read the print, but may not understand the meaning of the message.
Their own speech may be disturbed because they do not understand their own language.
Between the two, I would rather have expressive aphasia. I already have trouble trying to communicate to others, how much worse could it get?
Mrs. Southard
AP Psychology, 2A
October 2014
Essay Response
Paul Broca was a French surgeon and anatomist. He is best known for his research on
Broca’s area, a region of the frontal lobe, which has been named after him. Broca’s area is involved with articulated language. His work revealed that the brains of patients suffering from aphasia contained lesions in a particular part of the cortex, the left frontal region. Broca is celebrated for his discovery of the speech production center of the brain.
Carl Wernicke is credited with major discoveries in brain anatomy and pathology. He, on the other hand, introduced the concept that brain deficiencies were directly related to regions of the cerebral cortex. He also was one of the first to hypothesize a correlation between neurological pathways connection to regions of the brain and brain functioning. His work also was one of the first to establish the concept of right and left cerebral dominance.
Aphasia is a communication disorder that results from damage or injury to language parts of the brain. Both Broca and Wernicke established different types of aphasia with their symptoms and lesion sites. Broca’s aphasia, also known as expressive aphasia, is characterized by the loss of the ability to produce language (spoken or written). With expressive aphasia, the person knows what he or she wants to say, yet has difficulty communicating it to others.
Wernicke’s aphasia, also known as receptive aphasia, is a type of aphasia associated with neurological damage to one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex. With receptive aphasia, the person can hear a voice or read the print, but may not understand the meaning of the message.
Their own speech may be disturbed because they do not understand their own language.
Between the two, I would rather have expressive aphasia. I already have trouble trying to communicate to others, how much worse could it get?