Wernicke's Area

     One of the two main areas of the brain associated with a type of aphasia is Wernicke's Area, named for Karl Wernicke. Located in the  superior temporal gyrus, or the left temporal brain lobe, Wernicke's Area is the generalized location of speech perception and language comprehension in humans. This brain region was discovered and studied by Karl Wernicke in the latter half of the 19th century; this discovery stemmed from his study of patients with lesions isolated in the left-hand area of the brain. The patients he studied also had accompanying speech perception problems.  Wernicke's research connects to modern-day patients who suffer in similar ways.  These types of patients suffer from what may be better stated to be "speech that is meaningless or devoid of intelligible content/meaning." Patients also suffer from a lack of sound reception skills as well as an inability to articulate and convey the proper meanings of words and sentences.

      Defined by Matlin, Wernicke's Aphasia is a problem in which those suffering "cannot understand basic instructions." Though their sentences might not make complete sense, those words produced by patients with Wernicke's Aphasia are more likely to follow rules of grammar.  Semantic impairment is the main result of damage to this area, a reason why Wernicke's Aphasia is also referred to as "semantic aphasia." Damage to this area can occur through various accidents or traumas such as a stroke, and the damage can extend into other vital areas of the brain as well.  People experiencing Wernicke's Aphasia have been referred to as having or speaking "word salad" because of the jumbled-up nature of the words they are using. This confusing speech has also been called "cocktail hour" speech, as people with this disorder unknowingly seem to others to be drunk.  

1.   Wernicke's area, seen as one of the three major important areas for language.

• http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_10/d_10_cr/d_10_cr_lan/d_10_cr_lan.html

2. A comparison of damage to Wernicke's area and Broca's area

•  http://biology.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=biology&cdn=education&tm=21&gps=335_13_1441_595&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=11&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.furman.edu/%7Eeinstein/general/neurodemo/lang.htm

3. Overview of neurological disorders, specifically different types of aphasias.

• http://www.csuchico.edu/~pmccaffrey//syllabi/SPPA336/336unit8.html

4. Various videos showing patients with Wernicke's aphasia.  

• http://wn.com/Wernicke's_area#/videos

5. An overview of the Localization and Lateralization of Brain Function, specifically language.

• http://www2.derby.ac.uk/ostrich/intro_to_bio_psych/Lateralisation%20&%20Localisation%20of%20Brain%20Function/page_08.htm

6. Theories of Language, with Wernicke's Area corresponding to "A" in a hypothetical model.

•  http://language-theory.info/language731.html

7. Neuroscientists agree to 'move" Wernicke's Area 3 centimeters farther forward in the brain.

• http://www.audiologytalk.com/news/news_show.php?id=187

8. CT scan showing patient with Wernicke's Aphasia

• http://www.mindspring.com/~jpd3n/wernicke.html

9. Biography of Wernicke and his original brain drawing 

• http://grants.hhp.coe.uh.edu/clayne/HistoryofMC/HistoryMC/Wernicke.htm

10. A recent discussion of Wernicke's original publications

•  http://www.talkingbrains.org/2010/12/did-wernicke-really-postulate-only-two.html

 This page was created by Caley Cranford. To my knowledge, all images, videos and links are public material, but if there are questions regarding this matter,  I can be contacted at caleycranford@yahoo.com.