This is an area of the left
temporal lobe of the brain involved in language comprehension. It was identified in 1874 by German neurologist
Carl Wernicke. It receives input from the primary
auditory cortex when listening to speech, and from the primary
visual cortex when reading. It connects to
Broca's Area (involved in speech production) via the
arcuate fasciculus pathway. Damage to Wernicke's area can result in fluent
aphasia: an inability to produce coherent speech, and an inability to comprehend language.
Brain
___----__
_-- \ 2 ---_
/ 1 / \
| _B_\ 3|
\ _/ W _/
\/__ 4 ___---
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1. Frontal lobe
2. Parietal lobe
3. Occipital lobe
4. Temporal lobe
W. Wernicke's area
B. Broca's area