Languages and the Brain

What is the Critical Period Hypothesis related to in language acquisition?

Who discovered the speech center in the brain known as Broca's Area?

At what age did Paul Pierre Broca finish medical school?

According to Obler and Gjerlow (1999), where are the core linguistic functions for sign languages located?

What is the eventual goal of neurolinguistics in terms of localizing language phenomena in the brain?

Which area in the brain is responsible for the ability to speak, as observed by Paul Pierre Broca?

What did Wernicke identify as being central to language processing?

In which hemisphere of the brain is language primarily represented for the vast majority of individuals?

What is the term used to describe the specialization of the two halves of the brain?

Does language activity in the brain localize to specific areas or is it spread out?

Language and the Brain

The idea that specific brain areas are specialized for language functions dates back to the 19th century.
Paul Pierre Broca discovered an area in the left frontal lobe (Broca's area) responsible for speech and found that left-side brain injuries are more likely to result in language loss.

Brain Regions Involved in Language Processing

Broca's area and Wernicke's area are located in the left hemisphere of the brain and are central to language processing.
Wernicke's area is adjacent to the part of the cortex that processes audio input.
Many more areas of the brain are involved in language activity than initially thought, but core linguistic processes are typically housed in the left hemisphere.

Lateralization and Brain Development

The specialization of the two halves of the brain is known as lateralization, which is present even in infancy.
Brain plasticity decreases as the brain matures, making it less able to assume the functions of another area if damaged.

Critical Period Hypothesis

The Critical Period Hypothesis proposes that children have a limited number of years to acquire their first language (L1) flawlessly, and brain damage to language areas can be compensated by other areas of the brain in childhood.

Paul Pierre Broca

Broca made a significant discovery about the anatomy of the brain, finding the speech center (Broca's Area).
He was a child prodigy, earning baccalaureates in literature, mathematics, and physics, and began medical school at 17.

Hemispheric Specialization for Language

The left hemisphere is primarily specialized for phonology, morphology, syntax, intonation, function words, and lexical knowledge.
The right hemisphere is primarily specialized for nonverbal communication, visuospatial information, and nonliteral meaning.
Hemispheric specialization for language is the same regardless of whether the language is spoken or signed.

Explore the specialized locations in the brain for language functions dating back to the 19th century, including Broca's area and Wernicke's area. Learn about the observation by Paul Pierre Broca and Carl Wernicke that injuries to specific areas in the left side of the brain can result in language loss.