9/30/2018 0 Comments I Don't quite comprehend...The idea of localization that was introduced by Paul Broca continued to be debated and analyzed by neuroscientists. New ideas that left and right hemispheres of the brain were more dominant in certain functions became more accepted with additional support from Carl Wernicke’s work. Wernicke's areaLOCATION The Wernicke’s area is located on the left hemisphere of the brain. Just like the Broca’s area, it is located on the left hemisphere of the brain, which plays a major role in the production and interpretation of language. This area encompasses the Sylvian fissure, which is a diagonal chasm that borders the parietal and temporal lobes. THE STORY In 1874, just over a decade after Broca, Carl Wernicke also shared Broca’s idea of localization. This belief was furthered by one of Wernicke's patients who had endured a stroke. His patient was able to engage in speech and showed no sign of auditory impairments. However, his language comprehension was lacking. He was unable to recognize written or verbal speech. After the death of his patient, Wernicke explored the deceased’s brain, finding a lesion at the junction on the posterior of the temporal and parietal lobes. From this discovery, Wernicke linked the lesion to the man’s poor comprehension, calling the impairment “sensory aphasia.” FUNCTION The Wernicke’s area is in charge of language comprehension. It plays a major role in semantics, form, and pragmatics. This is the sensory area of the brain, since it receives and interprets external information. WERNICKE’S APHASIA Today, “sensory aphasia” is now known as Wernicke’s aphasia or sometimes referred to as fluent aphasia. In Wernicke’s discovery, this aphasia appeared to be articulate language, but the structure and meaning behind words made little sense. In a video example, which can be observed below, a client with Wernicke’s aphasia is asked by a clinician, “What is this?” as she gestures to her mouth. The patient responds with, "the end of a football,” and continues to back up his answer with other properly articulated words. Unlike Broca’s aphasia, the trouble comes from the lack of meaning of what the afflicted individual is expressing. TAkeaway 🎈The Wernicke’s area is also on the left hemisphere of the brain like the Broca’s area, since this hemisphere is language dominant. Unlike Broca’s aphasia, Wernicke’s aphasia deals with an individual’s cognitive processing. Next week
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