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Related Concept Videos

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and the...
Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways01:29

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

Somatic sensory or somatosensory pathways refer to the neural pathways that carry information related to touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and proprioception from the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints to the brain. These pathways involve several stages of processing and integration of sensory information.
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
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Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition
12:49

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

Dorsal and ventral pathways in language development.

Jens Brauer1, Alfred Anwander, Daniela Perani

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany.

Brain and Language
|May 7, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The ventral language pathway matures early, present at birth, while the dorsal pathway to the inferior frontal gyrus develops later, supporting complex language functions.

Keywords:
Arcuate fasciculusDWIDevelopmentDorsal and ventral pathwaysIFGInferior fronto-occipital fasciculus

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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition
12:49

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
06:34

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits
08:24

Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits

Published on: July 12, 2022

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • The human brain's language network relies on dorsal and ventral fiber connections between frontal and temporal regions.
  • Understanding the developmental trajectory of these connections is crucial for comprehending language acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the maturation of the dorsal and ventral language pathways in infants, children, and adults.
  • To identify the developmental timing of subcomponents within these fiber tracts.

Main Methods:

  • Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to analyze white matter tracts.
  • Three age groups were studied: newborn infants, 7-year-old children, and adults.

Main Results:

  • The ventral connection, linking temporal areas to the inferior frontal gyrus, shows maturational primacy, being present at birth.
  • A dorsal pathway from the temporal cortex to the premotor cortex is also observable in newborns.
  • The dorsal pathway to the inferior frontal gyrus matures later in development.

Conclusions:

  • Ventral pathway maturation precedes other language network components, supporting early language processing.
  • Later maturation of the dorsal pathway to the inferior frontal gyrus may be associated with the development of more complex language functions.