"For over 150 years, neuroscientists have known that a small region in the left frontal lobe-Broca's area-plays a crucial role in speech production. Named after French physician Paul Broca, who identified it in the 1860s, this brain region has become synonymous with our ability to speak. But recent discoveries suggest that Broca's area is just one player in a far more complex and fascinating neural orchestra than we ever imagined."
"The breakthrough came from converging evidence across multiple research methods. Direct electrical stimulation of patients' brains during neurosurgery revealed two distinct speech-related zones on the precentral gyrus (the motor strip of the brain). Functional brain imaging showed these same two areas lighting up during speech. And detailed brain mapping identified a previously obscure region called "area 55b" that seemed to bridge higher-level language planning and lower-level motor control."
Broca's area in the left frontal lobe plays a crucial role in speech production and has long been central to understanding speech. Broca noted the middle frontal gyrus might also be important. Modern imaging showed activation in a more dorsal region repeatedly during speech tasks. Converging evidence from electrical stimulation, functional imaging, and detailed mapping revealed two distinct speech-related zones on the precentral gyrus and identified area 55b bridging high-level planning and motor control. The brain uses two parallel hierarchies: a ventral system for articulation and a dorsal system specialized for pitch, enabled by a unique dorsal laryngeal motor cortex in humans.
Read at Psychology Today
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