Wernicke's area

Examples of Wernicke's area in the following topics:

• Human Language and the Brain

  • Wernicke's area, located in the cerebral cortex, is the part of the brain involved in understanding written and spoken language.
  • Damage to this area results in receptive aphasia (also called Wernicke's aphasia).
  • This diagram shows the areas of the brain associated with languages.
  • The areas of the brain necessary for language.
  • The areas of the brain necessary for processing language: Broca's area, Wernicke's area, the primary motor cortex, the posterior middle temporal gyrus, and the middle and posterior superior temporal gyrus.

• Cerebral Hemispheres and Lobes of the Brain

  • One specific portion of the temporal lobe, Wernicke's area, plays a key role in speech comprehension.
  • Patients with damage to Wernicke's area can speak clearly but the words make no sense, while patients with damage to Broca's area will fail to form words properly and speech will be halting and slurred.
  • These disorders are known as Wernicke's and Broca's aphasia respectively; an aphasia is an inability to speak.
  • The locations of Broca's and Wernicke's areas in the brain.
  • The Broca's area is at the back of the frontal lobe, and the Wernicke's area is roughly where the temporal lobe and parietal lobe meet.

• Overview of the Cerebrum

  • These functions originate within the primary motor cortex and other frontal lobe motor areas where actions are planned.
  • Damage to motor areas of cortex can lead to certain types of motor neuron disease.
  • Motor portions of language are attributed to Broca's area within the frontal lobe.
  • Speech comprehension is attributed to Wernicke's area, at the temporal-parietal lobe junction.
  • Damage to the Broca's area results in expressive aphasia (non-fluent aphasia) while damage to Wernicke's area results in receptive aphasia.

• Association Areas

  • Language abilities are localized in the left hemisphere in Broca's area for language expression and Wernicke's area for language reception.
  • The association areas are organized as distributed networks, and each network connects areas distributed across widely spaced regions of the cortex.
  • The association areas integrate information from different receptors or sensory areas and relate the information to past experiences.
  • Then the brain makes a decision and sends nerve impulses to the motor areas to elicit responses.
  • Locations of brain areas historically associated with language processing.

• Aphasia

  • Examples of well-known aphasia subtypes are Broca's aphasia, also called expressive aphasia, and Wernicke's aphasia, also called receptive aphasia.
  • The area and extent of brain damage or atrophy determines the type of aphasia and its symptoms.
  • In contrast to expressive aphasia, damage to the temporal lobe may result in a fluent aphasia that is called receptive aphasia (also known as sensory aphasia and Wernicke's aphasia).
  • These are the areas primarily responsible for language and injury leads to an inability to process speech.

• Areas to the Left and Right of x

  • The arrow in the graph below points to the area to the left of x.
  • This area is represented by the probability P ( X < x ) .
  • The area to the right is then P ( X > x ) = 1 − P ( X < x ) .
  • Remember, P ( X < x ) = Area to the left of the vertical line through x.
  • Area to the right of the vertical line through x

• Areas Under Normal Distributions

  • Use the normal calculator to calculate an area for a given X"
  • Use the normal calculator to calculate X for a given area
  • Areas under portions of a normal distribution can be computed by using calculus.
  • The shaded area between 40 and 60 contains 68% of the distribution.
  • The shaded area contains 95% of the area and extends from 55.4 to 94.6.

• U.S. Urban Patterns

  • Census Bureau classifies areas as urban or rural based on population size and density.
  • The Census Bureau defines "urban areas" as areas with a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile and at least 2,500 total people.
  • Urban areas are delineated without regard to political boundaries.
  • Combined, these areas occupy about 2% of the land area of the United States.
  • In the United States, the largest urban area is New York City, with over 8 million people within the city limits and over 19 million in the urban area.

• Your Areas of Expertise

  • When selecting a topic consider areas in which you have expertise.
  • When trying to select a topic for your speech consider any areas in which you are an expert.
  • Your area of expertise might be a good topic to give a speech about because you already possess a familiarity with it.
  • Considering your own areas of expertise can be a way of generating a speech topic.
  • Explain why choosing a topic in an area in which you are an expert is a good option

• Motor Areas

  • The motor areas, arranged like a pair of headphones across both cortex hemispheres, are involved in the control of voluntary movements.
  • The motor areas of the brain are located in both hemispheres of the cortex.
  • The motor areas are very closely related to the control of voluntary movements, especially fine movements performed by the hand.
  • The right half of the motor area controls the left side of the body, and the left half of the motor area controls the right side of the body.
  • The basal nuclei receive input from the substantia nigra of the midbrain and motor areas of the cerebral cortex and send signals back to both of these locations.