Speech Production and Aphasia

Speech Production Includes a selection problem: Select from possible words Concept Motor output

Brain Regions for Speech Production Wernicke’s Area Broca’s Area Insula

Wernicke’s and Broca’s are densely interconnected Connected by white-matter tract called the Arcuate Fasciculus Catani et al. 2005

Aphasia Much of what we know about language comprehension and production comes from lesion studies Lesions anywhere in the network (including white matter) can result in complex language deficits

Aphasia Broca’s Aphasia Patient “Tan” Classically thought of as a production deficit But the sometimes make exclamations and swear !? Note that Patient Tan’s lesion extended into the insula

Aphasia Wernicke’s Aphasia Classically thought of as a comprehension deficit But lesions to Wernicke’s area result in production deficits: Non-sensical “word salad”

Aphasias are infamously complex Why might the clinical picture of aphasia be complicated?