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Speech production: Wernicke, Broca and beyond.

S Catrin Blank1, Sophie K Scott, Kevin Murphy

  • 1MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK. katrin.blank@ic.ac.uk

Brain : a Journal of Neurology
|July 24, 2002
PubMed
Summary

This study reveals that both propositional speech (PrSp) and non-propositional speech (NPrSp) rely on shared brain regions near Wernicke's and Broca's areas. Communicative speech also involves additional left hemisphere regions beyond these classic language centers.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neurolinguistics

Background:

  • Understanding the neural basis of speech production is crucial for diagnosing and treating speech disorders.
  • Previous research has primarily focused on propositional speech, leaving the neural correlates of non-propositional speech less understood.
  • The precise brain regions involved in different types of speech production remain a subject of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare the brain systems engaged during propositional speech (PrSp) and non-propositional speech (NPrSp) forms, such as counting and reciting.
  • To identify common and distinct neural substrates for different speech production tasks.
  • To elucidate the role of classic language areas versus extrasylvian regions in communicative speech.

Main Methods:

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  • Functional neuroimaging (likely fMRI or PET) was used to measure brain activity during distinct speech tasks.
  • Participants performed propositional speech, counting, and reciting nursery rhymes.
  • Analysis focused on identifying activated brain regions and comparing patterns across different speech conditions.

Main Results:

  • Bilateral cerebral and cerebellar regions were activated for the motor act of articulation across all speech types.
  • Common left-lateralized activation was observed in the posterior supratemporal plane, inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercularis), and anterior insula for both PrSp and NPrSp.
  • Propositional speech additionally engaged a left-lateralized network including parietal, temporal, and prefrontal regions.
  • Activity in lateral prefrontal and paracingulate cortex, seen in prior word retrieval studies, was absent during natural speech tasks.

Conclusions:

  • Both non-propositional and propositional speech depend on shared, discrete subregions near the anatomically defined Wernicke's and Broca's areas.
  • Communicative speech production relies on a broader left hemisphere network, including regions outside the classic perisylvian language areas.
  • Damage to specific left extrasylvian and perisylvian cortical regions, rather than the overall extent of perisylvian damage, likely accounts for variations in aphasia-related speech impairments.