Wernicke's Area: Difference between revisions
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Wernicke's area, more precisely defined, spans the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and extends to involve adjacent areas like the angular gyrus and parts of the parietal lobe reflecting a more intricate neuroanatomical network than previously understood. This area shows considerable variability in its exact location and extent among individuals, challenging the traditional view of a uniformly located language center. | Wernicke's area, more precisely defined, spans the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and extends to involve adjacent areas like the angular gyrus and parts of the parietal lobe reflecting a more intricate neuroanatomical network than previously understood. This area shows considerable variability in its exact location and extent among individuals, challenging the traditional view of a uniformly located language center. | ||
However, there is an absence of consistent definitions as to the location. Some identify it with the unimodal auditory association in the superior temporal gyrus anterior to the primary auditory cortex (the anterior part of BA 22). This is the site most consistently implicated in auditory word recognition by functional brain imaging experiments. Others include also adjacent parts of the heteromodal cortex in BA 39 and BA40 in the parietal lobe.Despite the overwhelming notion of a specifically defined "Wernicke's Area", the most careful current research suggests that it is not a unified concept. | However, there is an absence of consistent definitions as to the location. Some identify it with the unimodal auditory association in the superior temporal gyrus anterior to the primary auditory cortex (the anterior part of BA 22). This is the site most consistently implicated in auditory word recognition by functional brain imaging experiments. Others include also adjacent parts of the heteromodal cortex in BA 39 and BA40 in the parietal lobe. Despite the overwhelming notion of a specifically defined "Wernicke's Area", the most careful current research suggests that it is not a unified concept. | ||
While previously thought to connect Wernicke's | While previously thought to connect [[Wernicke's Area]] and [[Broca's Area]], new research demonstrates that the arcuate fasciculus instead connects to posterior receptive areas with premotor/motor areas, and not to Broca's area. Consistent with the word recognition site identified in brain imaging, the uncinate fasciculus connects anterior superior temporal regions with Broca's area. | ||
==Clinical significance== | ==Clinical significance== | ||