Jeffrey R Binder1. 1. Departments of Neurology and Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA. jbinder@mcw.edu.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of the study is to assess historical anatomical and functional definitions of Wernicke's area in light of modern lesion and neuroimaging data. RECENT FINDINGS: "Wernicke's area" has become an anatomical label usually applied to the left posterior superior temporal gyrus and adjacent supramarginal gyrus. Recent evidence shows that this region is not critical for speech perception or for word comprehension. Rather, it supports retrieval of phonological forms (mental representations of phoneme sequences), which are used for speech output and short-term memory tasks. Focal damage to this region produces phonemic paraphasia without impairing word comprehension, i.e., conduction aphasia. Neuroimaging studies in recent decades provide evidence for a widely distributed temporal, parietal, and frontal network supporting language comprehension, which does not include the anatomically defined Wernicke area. The term Wernicke's area, if used at all, should not be used to refer to a zone critical for speech comprehension.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of the study is to assess historical anatomical and functional definitions of Wernicke's area in light of modern lesion and neuroimaging data. RECENT FINDINGS: "Wernicke's area" has become an anatomical label usually applied to the left posterior superior temporal gyrus and adjacent supramarginal gyrus. Recent evidence shows that this region is not critical for speech perception or for word comprehension. Rather, it supports retrieval of phonological forms (mental representations of phoneme sequences), which are used for speech output and short-term memory tasks. Focal damage to this region produces phonemic paraphasia without impairing word comprehension, i.e., conduction aphasia. Neuroimaging studies in recent decades provide evidence for a widely distributed temporal, parietal, and frontal network supporting language comprehension, which does not include the anatomically defined Wernicke area. The term Wernicke's area, if used at all, should not be used to refer to a zone critical for speech comprehension.
Authors: Leonardo Fernandino; Jeffrey R Binder; Rutvik H Desai; Suzanne L Pendl; Colin J Humphries; William L Gross; Lisa L Conant; Mark S Seidenberg Journal: Cereb Cortex Date: 2015-03-05 Impact factor: 5.357
Authors: Kostakis Gkiatis; Kyriakos Garganis; Christopher F Benjamin; Irene Karanasiou; Nikolaos Kondylidis; Jean Harushukuri; George K Matsopoulos Journal: Brain Behav Date: 2022-05-19 Impact factor: 3.405
Authors: Sheeba Arnold Anteraper; Kaundinya Gopinath; Michael J Hoch; Drenna Waldrop-Valverde; Donald Franklin; Scott L Letendre; Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli; Albert M Anderson Journal: J Neurovirol Date: 2021-03-05 Impact factor: 2.643
Authors: M-Marsel Mesulam; Christina A Coventry; Benjamin M Rader; Alan Kuang; Jaiashre Sridhar; Adam Martersteck; Hui Zhang; Cynthia K Thompson; Sandra Weintraub; Emily J Rogalski Journal: Cortex Date: 2021-05-24 Impact factor: 4.644