Areas of the brain involved in speech production and comprehension

Areas of the brain involved in speech production and comprehension

-By Timothy Lyons

There are several areas of the brain involved in speech production and comprehension discussed in (Carson & Birkett, 2017). Both the left and right hemispheres of the brain are instrumental in this effort. In most brains, the left hemisphere is used to understand and generate speech. The right hemisphere is normally used in dealing with speech patterns and emotional content in speech. The fact that we store information about events is important in the production of speech. There must be content to discuss. The content of our speech can be related to the past or stored memories, the present which would be events occurring at the time of the speech and the future which would be hypothetical or imaginary events. In order for speech to occur, the parietal, occipital and temporal lobes, located in the posterior area of the cerebral hemispheres, are active in the comprehension of presently occurring events and in the use of memories. It is also believed that these areas assist in imagination of future events. The left hemisphere deals in the production and comprehension of speech but the right hemisphere is necessary for this communication in that this area deals in figurative components of speech such as understanding metaphors.

An area in the left hemisphere of the brain called Broca’s area plays a role in speech production. This area contains neurons that deal with the functions of speech creation and understanding language. It is located in the frontal left hemisphere rostral to the primary motor cortex and is necessary for fluent and effective speech (Britannica.com, 2016). It would appear that Broca’s area is necessary for motor functions that deal with the complex coordinated movements of the tongue lips and mouth with the vocal cords (Carson & Birkett, 2017).  Another area in the left hemisphere close to the auditory cortex that is necessary for speech comprehension is Wernicke’s area. This area contains neurons that deal with comprehension. It is important for understanding speech sounds (Britannica.com, 2014). Wernicke’s area contains auditory information about the sounds of words and enables the ability to identify words by their sounds.

References: Areas of the brain involved in speech production and comprehension

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Britannicacom 2014 Wernicke areaBritannica.com. (2014, January 24). Wernicke area. Retrieved February 4, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/science/Wernicke-area 20170204100832880324602

Britannicacom 2016 Broca areaBritannica.com. (2016, August 31). Broca area. Retrieved February 4, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/science/Broca-area 20170204100434533897757

Carlson N R Birkett M A 2017 Physiology of BehaviorCarson, N. R., & Birkett, M. A. (2017). Physiology of Behavior (12 ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.  201701051006041088637590

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