Wernicke’s area: anatomy, functions and disorders.

This part of the brain, located between the parietal and temporal lobes, performs language functions.

Although the localizationist view that attributes language comprehension to Wernicke's area, a region located in the temporal lobe, has predominated since the late 19th century, in recent years the scientific community has been demonstrating that the nervous complexity of this characteristically human function is much greater than previously thought.

In this article we will describe the anatomical structure and functions of Wernicke's area.. We will also discuss the most distinctive symptoms of the linguistic disorder associated with lesions in this brain region: Wernicke's aphasia, also called "sensory" or "receptive" aphasia.

Anatomy and structure of Wernicke's area

Wernicke's area is a brain region located in the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere. is located in the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere, usually the left, with a large number of exceptions among left-handed people.The superior temporal gyrus is located near the primary auditory cortex, as well as the primary auditory cortex of the left hemisphere. The superior temporal gyrus is located near the primary auditory cortex as well as the outermost parts of this sensory system.

This area of the brain borders the angular gyrus of the parietal lobe, which is involved in language, reasoning and memory. The Blood supply to Wernicke's region depends on the middle cerebral artery, which is essential for the transport of nutrients to the cortex as a whole.

There is some disagreement about the exact delimitation of Wernicke's area. Thus, while many experts consider it to be identified with the anterior part of Brocken's area 22. the anterior part of Brodmann's area 22 of the temporal lobe, the anterior part of Brodmann's area 22 of the temporal lobe (involved in the recognition of auditory verbal stimuli according to neurofunctional studies), others place it in the multimodal parietal cortex.

Functions of this brain region

This cortical structure was described for the first time by the German neurologist and psychiatrist Carl Wernicke in 1874. in the year 1874. This author proposed the existence of a link between the brain region that would be given its name and the production and imitation of oral language. His hypothesis was based on the analysis of lesions in the superior temporal gyrus and its associated signs.

From this milestone in the field of neuroanatomy, the localizationist view that attributes receptive language (i.e., auditory comprehension of speech) to Wernicke's area began to consolidate. From this point of view the region is considered the brain center for language comprehension. brain center for language comprehensionor at least a very relevant structure in this function.

Among the cognitive functions that were related to Wernicke's area throughout the 19th and 20th centuries we find the semantic processing of linguistic information (both in auditory and written format), language recognition and its interpretation.

Recent research on language

It is important to mention the relationship between Wernicke's area and Broca's area, located in the prosencephalon.Broca's area, located in the forebrain and traditionally associated with language production. It has long been believed that the two regions are connected through a bundle of nerve fibers called the "arcuate fasciculus".

However, we now know that the arcuate fasciculus actually connects Wernicke's area with the premotor and motor cortex in general, and not only with Broca's area; in any case it would be the uncinate fasciculus that would be responsible for this interaction. Even more relevant are the findings regarding the functions of these two regions.

Although Wernicke's area has traditionally been attributed with language comprehension, recent neuroimaging studies suggest that this region may be involved in language comprehension. may rather be involved in speech production.. Paradoxically, it is nowadays also believed that Broca's area may be mainly related to language comprehension rather than language production.

In any case, it is important to note that brain functions are not usually localized in a single brain structure. Similarly, language is a very complex function in which large regions and networks involving mainly, but not exclusively, the frontal and temporal lobes play important roles.

Symptoms of Wernicke's aphasia

Lesions in the temporal lobe of the dominant hemisphere of the brain often result in a language disorder that has been called Wernicke's aphasia. a language disorder that has been given the name "Wernicke's aphasia" because of its relationship to the area of Wernicke's aphasia. because of its relation to the area in question. This disorder has also been called "sensory", "receptive", "comprehension" and "fluid" aphasia based on its defining characteristics.

People with Wernicke's aphasia have difficulty understanding other people's speech. In addition, despite being fluent and well articulated, their speech often lacks meaning and articulation, their speech is often meaningless and full of paraphasias, or substitutions of phonemes for phonemes.or substitutions of phonemes for similar ones. These alterations also occur in written language, which shares a cerebral basis with spoken language.

The similarity of the symptoms of Wernicke's aphasia with the language disorders that occur in the context of schizophrenia is striking. Thus, in both disorders we find phenomena such as neologisms (words without shared meaning) and the lack of coherence of sentences (schizophrenia, paragrammatism). (schizoaffasia, paragrammatism or word salad)..