Wernicke’s area and language understanding

Language comprehension is the human ability to process and understand spoken and written language. This ability has helped us greatly throughout our evolutionary history. The ability to communicate effectively has allowed us to collaborate and create complex societies to confront a hostile world. For this reason, in the brain we find biologically rooted structures, such as the Wernicke area.

A key aspect of the neural disposition of language is that it is lateralized. That is, the vast majority of structures related to language are found in the left hemisphere. It is true that there are studies that affirm that processes such as jokes, pragmatics and sarcasm are managed in the right hemisphere. Thus, the Wernicke area, responsible for understanding language, is located in the left hemisphere. More specifically in zones 21 and 22, according to Brodmann’s areas.

In this article we are going to talk about two fundamental aspects to understand the implication of Wernicke area in the language. The first of them will be its anatomical and functional aspects. And the second, about Wernicke’s aphasia, caused by lesions in that area.

Anatomy and functionality of Wernicke’s area

Apart from Brodmann zones 21 and 22, which represent the nerve center of the Wernicke area, there are other structures involved in understanding language. When we talk about Wernicke area extended we also include zones 20, 37, 38, 39 and 40. Which participate in the association of words with other types of information.

Wernicke’s area is closely linked to the primary auditory cortex.something that is consistent with its role in understanding spoken language. At an anatomical level, it is also noteworthy to talk about the great connections that this system has with the drill bit area. This area is mainly responsible for language comprehension. These two areas (Wernicke and Broca) are connected by a series of neuronal bundles, which in turn form the so-called arcuate fasciculus.

The functions performed by the Wernicke area are the following:

Understanding of language, both in its spoken and written form. Management of the semantics of language, transforming words to their meaning or the other way around.Planning in speech production, especially in the semantic and pragmatic aspects of it.

These functions are the pillars that support an adequate understanding of language that allows communication. Therefore, injuries to the Wernicke area They can have important negative consequences when it comes to using language and dealing with communication. In the next section we will talk about the specific consequences of injuries in this area.

Wernicke’s aphasia

Wernicke’s aphasia is a disorder of language production caused by lesions in Wernicke’s area.. This disorder is characterized by unstructured and meaningless speech, along with an almost non-existent understanding of language. But, although the message is meaningless, the speech is conveyed fluidly and effortlessly. This is because language production is intact.

Unlike Broca’s aphasia, The patient uses a large number of functional words (el, de, ante, un…), using complex verb tenses and subordinate clauses. Instead, they use few content words, and these words do not link together to form meaning. This is mainly due to an effect called semantic paralexia, a phenomenon by which instead of saying the word they are looking for, they say a different one with a similar meaning. This occurs because the Wernicke area It is not precise in the selection of words through meaning.

A key aspect of Wernicke’s aphasia is that language fluency is completely intact.. Subjects with this disorder have no problem maintaining effortless speech. Of course, meaningless. It is because the brain structure responsible for producing speech is Broca’s area. This helps us understand that Wernicke’s area is specialized in language understanding and semantics. Despite their connections with other areas, they are capable of continuing to function independently.

A curiosity…

Finally, a curious process occurs when a lesion appears in the language areas at a very early age. Due to the great plasticity of the brain, if the left hemisphere is damaged, it is possible that language develops in the right hemisphere. Thanks to this, brain lesions before language consolidation can be reduced, thus achieving normal or practically normal development.

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