Broca's Influence On The Brain

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It controls everything from movement throughout the body to one’s behaviour. For centuries, the brain has been seen as almost incomprehensible. However with the advancements of neurological sciences, scientist have learned so much more about the brain and the processes it controls. The hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain make up the three most basic units of the brain. The hindbrain is composed of the upper section of the spinal cord, the cerebellum, and the brainstem. The cerebellum and brainstem compose two out of three of the general regions of the brain. The cerebellum controls one’s coordination, balance, and posture. On the other hand, the brainstem controls involuntary movements such
Broca’s area is named after Paul Broca, a french neurosurgeon. Paul Broca’s studies helped others understand more specifically what is now known as Broca’s area and the way language is processed through the human brain. Through the use of his studies of patients with speech disorders, he also helped identify for the first time the existence of a specific language section in the brain. Broca’s area is located in the posterior section of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. Broca’s studies helped prove that people who had language deficits, especially in speaking resulted in an issue with Broca’s area. While Broca’s area helps with speech production, Wernicke’s area helps with speech comprehension. Wernicke’s area is named after Carl Wernicke, a German neurologist. The area is found in the posterior portion of the left temporal lobe. It was also discovered that with a defect in the Wernicke’s area, a speech disorder may be developed. It was also further discovered that Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area were connected by the arcuate fasciculus. The arcuate fasciculus is a bundle of nerve fibres. In all, both of these areas prove to have great importance in the processing
Broca’s area, associated with language production, lies in the frontal end of the neural loop. On the contrary, Wernicke’s loop, associated with the processing of words, lies at the end of the loop in what is the superior posterior temporal lobe. This discovered language loop is overall found in the left hemisphere of ninety percent right-handed people and seventy percent of left-handed people. With further research, it became further known that this existed loop was also present in deaf people who speak using sign language. With this, the loop was not specifically known for heard and spoken language, but was also broadly correlated with an individual’s primary language is. Although Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are not the only areas of the brain that are associated with language and the processing of sounds, they are two primary sections that help process language in the