LANGUAGE AND THE

BRAIN
Neurolinguistics- study of
the relationship between
language and the brain.

Parts of the Brain

Motor cortex

Arcuate
fasciculus

Brocas area
Taken after the French surgeon Paul
Broca in the 1860s.
Reported that damage to this
particular part of the brain would
result in difficulty in producing
speech.
Located in the left hemisphere of the
brain.

Wernickes area
Taken after Carl Wernicke who was a
German doctor in 1870s.
Reported that damage to this part of
the brain will result in comprehension
difficulties.
Patients face difficulty in the
understanding of speech.

The Motor Cortex

Controls movement of the muscles
(moving hands, feet, arms).
Brocas area is a part of the motor
cortex that controls the articulatory
muscles of the face, jaw, tongue and
larynx.

Arcuate fasciculus
Consists of a bundle of nerve fibers.
Forms a crucial connection between
Wernickes area and Brocas area.

Localization View
Word is heard and comprehended via
Wernickes area.
Signal is transferred via arcuate
fasciculus to Brocas area.
Preparations are made to produce it
at Brocas area.
Signal is sent to the motor cortex to
physically articulate the word.

Tip of the Tongue

Some word is eluding you, you know
the word, but it refuses to come to
surface.

Malapropisms
Phonological similarities between the
target word and mistake.

Slip of the tongue

Use the door to open the key
A fifty pound dog of bag food.

Slips of the Ear

Great ape (grey tape)
No chat. (not yet)

Aphasia
An impairment of language function
due to localized cerebral damage
Leads to difficulty in understanding or
producing linguistic forms.

Brocas Aphasia(motor aphasia)

Reduced amount of speech, distorted
articulation and slow with effortful
speech.
Absence of functional morpheme.
Only uses lexical morphemes.

Wernickes aphasia (sensory)

Speech is very fluent.
Difficult to make sense of words
articulated.

Anomia
Difficulty in finding the correct words.

Conduction Aphasia
Damage to the arcuate fasciculus.
Have disrupted rhythm because of
pauses and hesitations.

Dichotic Listening
A technique done to identify which
hemisphere of the brain is used for
language
Outcome: left hemmisphere.