Wernicke's area
[2] Emerging research on the developmental trajectory of Wernicke's area highlights its evolving role in language acquisition and processing during childhood.This includes studies on the maturation of neural pathways associated with this region, which contribute to the progressive complexity of language comprehension and production abilities in developing individuals.[11] Consistent with the word recognition site identified in brain imaging, the uncinate fasciculus connects anterior superior temporal regions with Broca's area.[13] Emerging research, including advanced neuroimaging studies, underscores a more distributed network of brain regions involved in language processing, challenging the traditional dichotomy of Wernicke's and Broca's areas.This includes findings on how Wernicke's area collaborates with other brain regions in processing both verbal and non-verbal auditory information, reshaping our understanding of its functional significance.[4] There are some suggestions that middle and inferior temporal gyri and basal temporal cortex reflect lexical processing ... there is consensus that the STG from rostral to caudal fields and the STS constitute the neural tissue in which many of the critical computations for speech recognition are executed ... aspects of Broca’s area (Brodmann areas 44 and 45) are also regularly implicated in speech processing.[15] Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that Wernicke's area plays a pivotal role in the nuanced aspects of language processing, including the interpretation of ambiguous words and the integration of linguistic context.Its functions extend beyond mere speech comprehension, encompassing complex cognitive tasks like semantic processing, discerning metaphorical language, and even contributing to the understanding of non-verbal elements in communication.Other causes of focal damage potentially leading to Wernicke's aphasia include head trauma, infections affecting the central nervous system, neurodegenerative disease, and neoplasms.Abnormalities in fluency would include shortened phrases, decreased number of words per minute, increased effort with speech, and agrammatism.Another symptom of Wernicke's aphasia is use of semantic paraphasias or "empty speech" which is the use of generic terms like "stuff" or "things" to stand in for the specific words that the patient cannot think of.[4] While neuroimaging and lesion evidence generally support the idea that malfunction of or damage to Wernicke's area is common in people with receptive aphasia, this is not always so.
temporal lobecerebral hemisphereArterymiddle cerebral arteryNeuroNamesNeuroLexAnatomical terms of neuroanatomycerebral cortexBroca's areaBrodmann area 22superior temporal gyrusright-handedfluent aphasianon-fluent aphasiatelegraphic mannerparietal lobeword recognitionarcuate fasciculusuncinate fasciculusTranscranial magnetic stimulationUniversity of RochesterAmerican Sign LanguageCarl WernickeGermanneurologistpsychiatristbrain injuriesaphasiaReceptive aphasiasyntaxjargon aphasiaparaphasiascircumlocutionlanguage processingTemporoparietal junctionBibcodeCiteSeerXhuman brainFrontal lobePrefrontalSuperior frontal gyrusMiddle frontal gyrusInferior frontal gyrusPars orbitalisPars opercularisPars triangularisSuperior frontal sulcusInferior frontal sulcusPrecentralPrecentral gyrusPrecentral sulcusMedial frontal gyrusParaterminal gyrusParaolfactory areaStraight gyrusOrbital gyriOrbitofrontal cortexVentromedial prefrontal cortexSubcallosal areaOlfactory sulcusOrbital sulcusParacentral lobuleParacentral sulcusPrimary motor cortexPremotor cortexSupplementary motor areaSupplementary eye fieldFrontal eye fieldsSuperior parietal lobuleInferior parietal lobuleSupramarginal gyrusAngular gyrusParietal operculumIntraparietal sulcusPrecuneusMarginal sulcusPostcentral gyrusPrimary somatosensory cortex3, 1 and 2Secondary somatosensory cortexPosterior parietal cortexOccipital lobeOccipital gyriLateral occipital gyrusLunate sulcusTransverse occipital sulcusVisual cortexCuneusLingual gyrusCalcarine sulcusTransverse temporal gyrusAuditory cortex41 and 42Planum temporaleSuperior temporal sulcusMiddle temporal gyrusOccipitotemporal sulcusFusiform gyrusMedial temporal lobeInferior temporal sulcusInferior temporal gyrusInterlobarsulci/fissuresCentral (frontal+parietal)Lateral (frontal+parietal+temporal)Parieto-occipitalPreoccipital notchLongitudinal fissureCingulate (frontal+cingulate)Collateral (temporal+occipital)Callosal sulcusLimbic lobeParahippocampal gyrusEntorhinal cortexPerirhinal cortexPostrhinal cortexPosterior parahippocampal gyrusPrepyriform areaCingulate cortexSubgenual areaAnterior cingulatePosterior cingulateIsthmus of cingulate gyrusRetrosplenial cortexHippocampal formationHippocampal sulcusFimbria of hippocampus