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Broca's area, or the Broca area (/ ˈ b r oʊ k ə /, [1] [2] [3] also UK: / ˈ b r ɒ k ə /, US: / ˈ b r oʊ k ɑː / [4]), is a region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere, usually the left, of the brain [5] with functions linked to speech production. Language processing has been linked to Broca's area since Pierre Paul Broca ...
Broca's area is located in the left hemisphere prefrontal cortex above the cingulate gyrus in the third frontal convolution. [16] Broca's area was discovered by Paul Broca in 1865. This area handles speech production. Damage to this area would result in Broca aphasia which causes the patient to become unable to formulate coherent appropriate ...
Language functions such as grammar, vocabulary and literal meaning are typically lateralized to the left hemisphere, especially in right-handed individuals. [7] While language production is left-lateralized in up to 90% of right-handers, it is more bilateral, or even right-lateralized, in approximately 50% of left-handers. [8]
Furthermore, Broca's area is structurally related to the thalamus, and both are engaged in language processing. [5] The connectivity between both areas is two thalamic nuclei, the pulvinar, and the ventral nucleus, which are involved in language processing and linguistic functions similar to BA 44 and 45 in Broca's area. [5]
The right hemisphere has also been shown to play a role in the perception of body movements and positions. [2] All of these right hemisphere features are more prominent for signed languages than spoken languages, hence the argument that signed languages engage the right hemisphere more than spoken languages.
The brain is wired contralaterally, which means the limbs on right side of the body are controlled by the left hemisphere and vice versa. [16] Therefore, when Broca's area or surrounding areas in the left hemisphere are damaged, hemiplegia or hemiparesis often occurs on the right side of the body in individuals with Broca's aphasia.
Most language processing takes place in Broca's area usually in the left hemisphere. [9] Damage to this region often results in a type of non-fluent aphasia known as Broca's aphasia. Broca's area is made up of the pars opercularis and the pars triangularis, both of which contribute to verbal fluency, but each has its own specific contribution.
Broca named the limbic lobe in 1878, identifying it with the cingulate and parahippocampal gyri, and associating it with the sense of smell - Treviranus having earlier noted that, between species, the size of the parahippocampal gyrus varies with the size of the olfactory nerve. [2]