In a message dated 6/28/2006 1:13:22 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
And what parts of the brain are used during conversation? I'd be wanting to know that before I drew any conclusions about anything. (Sorry if someone has already covered this, I'm way behind....) Language is predominantly controlled by two regions of the brain. Wernicke's area is in the parietal lobe (back half) near the primary auditory cortex (temporal lobes) is the region where language is "understood". Broca's area is in the inferior frontal lobe (lateral part of the brain about in the middle). Broca's is more involved with speech generation. This is a simplified view of course. Damage to Wernicke's region leads to receptive aphasia (an inability to understand language - person can still speak but can't understand). Damage to Broca's area (much less common) leads to expressive aphasia - can understand but not speak. Several variants - Fluent aphasia: Can speak but what comes out is word salad; Non-fluent - patient can't speak. Language is localized mostly to the left hemisphere but it can be right sided in rare individuals and it is more or less bilateral in some individuals (women more than men). Of course this is very simplified. The prefrontal portions of the brain are where volition occurs and the medial temporal lobe is the locus for much memory. Damage to any of these areas can also effect speech. Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease develop transcortical aphasia due to severe diffuse brain damage (my dad is currently nearing the end of his life - His AD is so bad that he can neither speak or eat). _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
