AP Psychology › Speech Perception & Processing
Which specific neuroanatomical region is known to heavily influence language comprehension?
Wernicke's Area
Broca's Area
Thalamus
Vocalization region of motor areas
Parietal lobe and temporal lobe junction
Wernicke's area, located in the region known commonly as Brodmann 22 or at the junction of the temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, has been found to contribute to language comprehension. Patients with Wernicke's aphasia can speak, but not comprehend language.
Following a stroke, a patient has difficulty understanding others' communications. This would most likely be diagnosed as which of the following disorders?
Wernicke's aphasia
Broca's aphasia
Dyslexia
Language processing disorder
Wernicke's aphasia hinders one's ability to understand language. It is directly linked with damage to a particular part of the brain known as Wernicke's area. By contrast, Broca's area is linked to humans' ability to produce language. Broca's aphasia, in turn, is a diagnosis related to issues with language production, rather than comprehension.