Language function, foot of the third frontal gyrus, and rolandic operculum

Two cases with expressive speech disorders were studied neuropsychologically and neurologically; anatomical and histopathological examinations were performed in both cases. In case 1, a small infarction in the foot of the left third frontal gyrus (F3) produced only transient word-finding difficulties that did not recur after a second stroke with lesion of the symmetrical zone in the right hemisphere. A transient, predominantly articulatory difficulty was observed in case 2; this was thought to be associated with a small infarction in the lower motor strip, including the Rolandic operculum. On the basis of the literature and our two cases, it may be concluded that overlapping lesions of these two areas play an important role in the development of persistent Broca's aphasia and that each of these two areas may be responsible for different components of the speech production: work-finding difficulties being associated with lesions of posterior F3 and articulatory disorders with lesions of the Rolandic operculum.