Broca's area (part of the brain): functions and location

Broca's area is one of the parts of the brain What more attention have they received in the investigation of the neurobiological mechanisms that explain the use we make of language, whether it is spoken or written. The reason for this is that clinical studies related to this area of cerebral cortex they show that there are different parts specialized in different aspects of language.

In this article we will see what Broca's area is and how it is related to the use of language, through a summary of the characteristics of this part of the brain.

Related article: "Parts of the human brain (and functions)"

Broca's area: what is it?

Throughout history, attempts to understand how the brain works have led to trying to study the mental processes that carry out parts of it, as if they were systems relatively isolated from the rest. Broca's area was one of the first regions of the central nervous system to be associated with a concrete mental process differentiated from the rest.

The concrete, Broca's area is the part of the brain that is responsible for

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the articulation of language in any of its forms. Thus, in both writing and speech, this portion of the central nervous system specializes in the production of a message with internal coherence and articulated through the corresponding language fractions, whether letters or phonemes. That is, it works by making possible the use of language in an abstract sense, without being constrained either only to speech or only to literacy.

However, it is also true that no part of the brain functions completely independently of the rest of the structures of the nervous system. As much as Broca's area is spoken of as a brain structure associated with language, we must not forget that it does not work in parallel with the rest of nerve cells, but is coordinated with very extensive neural networks spread throughout the brain, and without them it would not be able to perform its functions. functions.

Location of this part of the cerebral cortex

Broca's area located in the third frontal gyrus (in the frontal lobe) of the left cerebral hemisphere, although in some exceptional cases it is in the right hemisphere. Specifically, according to Brodmann's map, it occupies the Brodmann areas 44 and 45, near the eye and glued to the front of the temporal lobe.

Of course, it must be borne in mind that the exact location of Broca's area may vary slightly from a individual to another, and there are even cases in which it is visibly displaced compared to the human brain average. This is because no two brains are alike due to genetic differences and the effect of brain plasticity over time: descriptions of the cerebral cortex speak of general patterns, not exact rules.

Broca's aphasia

The discovery of the Broca area came from the hand of clinical cases in which patients with this area impaired were unable to write and pronounce well even though they could understand what was He said. This caused the existence of a syndrome known as Broca's aphasia, characterized by all the typical symptoms that appear when there is a lesion in Broca's area and other parts of the brain have been relatively preserved.

Specifically, the main symptoms are the following:

Problems when it comes to repeat words.
Lack of fluency when trying to speak or write.
The ability to understand texts and spoken language is preserved.

This syndrome is especially distinguished from another type of aphasia related to a part of the brain called Wernicke's area. It is Wernicke's aphasia, in which, compared to Broca's aphasia, language and writing are very more fluent, but the ability to give meaning to what is said or what is read or heard is lost, so which it is not understood what others say.

It must be taken into account that when a part of the brain is injured, either Broca's or Wernicke's area, it is also affected indirectly to other parts of the brain, so the symptoms that appear are not an exact reflection of the tasks performed by This parts.

Related article: "Broca's aphasia: symptoms and causes of this disorder"

Is it possible to cure the diseases associated with this type of injury?

In general, neurological disorders resulting from injury to the brain cannot be cured by medical procedures, although there are rehabilitation treatments that help mitigate their symptom. On the other hand, brain plasticity can make the brain "adapt" to that injury over time and learn how to make other parts of the brain perform the functions that were performed by the injured area.

Functions of this brain region

Currently, Broca's area is associated with these main mental functions and processes:

Language production.
It helps to create spoken or written language, establishing chains of words and letters or phonemes.
Regulation of gestures linked to speech.
When we speak, we usually move other parts of our body so that this information complements what we are saying out loud. All this, moreover, happens spontaneously, and it is thanks to the work of Broca's area.
Recognition of grammatical structures.
Broca's area reacts in a specific way when a poorly constructed sentence is read or listened to grammatically
Regulation of the pronunciation of phonemes.
This part of the frontal lobe left is also in charge of monitor pronounced phonemes, so it recognizes when a section of the word doesn't sound like it should.
Regulation of the rhythm of speech.

In addition, Broca's area is also in charge of working with another important element in the production of spoken language: the times. In this way it allows us to give our speech the right rhythm. On the other hand, in the phase immediately prior to pronunciation, it inhibits the appearance of phonemes other than the one that corresponds to each part of the word.

Keep in mind that neurosciences are constantly advancing, and that is why what is known today about what tasks Broca's area performs is possibly just the tip of the iceberg.

On the other hand, avoid falling into the simplistic belief that Broca's area "produces" language. Different parts of the brain can more or less specialize in different psychological functions, but they always work at the same time, in a coordinated way with each other. They need each other, and what happens in them is not isolated from the rest of phenomena biopsychological events that take place in thousands of other parts of the nervous system and the body in general.

Your relationship with the Wernicke area

As we have seen, Broca's area is proof that not all parts of the brain do the same. Even language, which is apparently a single skill, is made up of many others that can be separated.

Wernicke's area is the other major area of language involved in the use of this mental faculty. That is why it communicates with Broca's area through a set of neuronal axons directed towards the front. Lesions in one area or another, or in the set of axons that communicate both, produce different types of aphasias.

Bibliographic references:

Ardila, A.; Bernal, B.; Rosselli, M. (2016). «How Localized are Language Brain Areas? A Review of Brodmann Areas Involvement in Oral Language. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 31 (1): pp. 112 - 122.
Binkofski, F., Amunts, K., Stephan, K.M., Posse, S., Schormann, T., Freund, H.J., Zilles, K., Seitz, R.J. (2000). "Broca's region subserves imagery of motion: a combined cytoarchitectonic and fMRI study". Human Brain Mapping. 11 (4): 273 - 285.
Caplan, D. (2006). "Why is Broca's area involved in syntax?". Cortex; A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior. 42 (4): 469–71.
Fadiga, L., Craighero, L. (2006). "Hand actions and speech representation in Broca's area". Cortex; A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior. 42 (4): 486–90.