Introduction
Wernicke’s area, also known as Wernike’s speech area, is located in Brodmann area 22, the posterior segment of the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant hemisphere. Since over 90% of people have a left dominant hemisphere, Wernicke’s Area is generally found on the left side of the brain. Along with Broca’s area, the main function of Wernicke’s area is language processing. However, unlike Broca’s area which essentially contributes to language production, Wernicke’s area is focused on language comprehension. For instance, when a person receives a word or phrase, it activates the area and analyzes the words for understanding.
The discovery of Wernicke’s area
The Wernicke’s area was first identified by Carl Wernicke, a German neuropathologist. He was greatly inspired by Broca’s research on language processing and communication. Broca’s achievements in motor aphasia influenced him to research specific locations of lesions that caused language related symptoms. He tried to find it through observations in his patients. In 1873, one of his patients was able to hear and speak, but not able to apprehend his messages. After the patient’s death, Wernicke studied his brain and found the damage in the left hemisphere of the brian, located adjacent to the auditory region. This study led Wernicke to reach his conclusion that this area is in charge of language comprehension.
The evolution in view of Wernicke’s area
The traditional view of Wernicke’s area was the contribution to language comprehension. However, as neuroimaging technology evolves, it is starting to challenge this historical view. Recent studies reveal that Wernicek’s area is capable of a much larger role, in terms of producing speeches. Moreover, the studies suggest that Wernicke’s area does not work by itself, instead interacting with other regions by forming a single network.
The research held by Binder et al.(2003), identified the additional regions outside of Wernike’s area. It revealed that the regions like fusiform face area and angular gyri were also activated when language processing is going on.
Another research, held by Saygin et al. (2003) supported the idea of “extension in wernicke’s area”. They examined the relation between verbal and nonverbal auditory processing by assessing the ability of thirty patients who suffered from left-hemisphere damages. The mapping of lesion revealed Wernicke's area as being dissimilarly more significant for processing nonverbal sounds compared to verbal sounds, suggesting that language shares neural resources with those used for processing information in other regions. This study indicates that Wernicke’s area is not only in charge of verbal sounds like words and phrases, but non verbal sounds too.
The studies reveal that language comprehension of humans requires a more extensive and interconnected network. Many researchers agree with the idea that Wernicke’s area is not limited to a single region of the brian, but including multiple parts like temporal, parietal, and occipital regions.
Wernicke’s Aphasia and its treatment
Having lesions in this area can likely cause Wernicke's Aphasia. The patients with this disease can have significant difficulty in language comprehension. As mentioned in Carl Wernicke’s patient case, while patients are still capable of speaking and forming a sentence, they include words that are unrelated or doesn;t make sense. This is because of loss of language comprehension ability, like connecting the words and using the words in appropriate situations. Some people refer to Wernicke's Aphasia as “jumbled word salad” as others cannot understand your mixture of words. This symptom can often lead to frustration of misunderstanding for the patient, as they do not recognize their problem.
What is the difference between Wernicke’s Aphasia and Broca’s Aphasia? Since Broca’s area is responsible for motor movements, this disease often includes weakness or even complete immobility of arms or legs. Furthermore, patients with Broca’s Aphasia can only speak with limited and short words, like “is, "the ","and ". The key difference with Wernicke’s Aphasia is that others can usually understand your saying.
The treatment of Wernicke’s Aphasia can be categorized into three. First, if the patient is suffering from brain infection, curing the lesions through medical treatment can effectively help the recovery. Moreover, having speech therapies can improve your language skills. This can be held in groups, learning the communication methods in different situations. Lastly, the patient can utilize speech devices, like expressing your message through pictures or diagrams.
References
Brennan, D. (2021). What Is Wernicke’s Aphasia? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/brain/what-is-wernickes-aphasia
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2017). Aphasia. NIDCD. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/aphasia
Binder, J. R., Frost, J. A., Hammeke, T. A., Cox, R. W., Rao, S. M., & Prieto, T. (1997). Human Brain Language Areas Identified by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The Journal of Neuroscience, 17(1), 353–362. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.17-01-00353.1997
Read This Aloud—and Thank Wernicke’s Area in the Brain. (n.d.). ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/wernickes-area-anatomy-373231#:~:text=Discovery
What to Know About Aphasia. (n.d.). Silverliningsclinic.com. https://silverliningsclinic.com/blog/what-to-know-about-aphasia
Rehab, F. (2020, July 9). Damage to Wernicke’s Area: Symptoms and Treatment. Flint Rehab. https://www.flintrehab.com/damage-to-wernickes-area/
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