What is Broca's apahsia and which areas of the brain does it affect?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

When brain damage impairs language production, we call it Broca's aphasia, or nonfluent aphasia, regardless of the exact location of damage. This discovery, the first demonstration of the function of a particular brain area, paved the way for modern neurology. Modern methods have confirmed that Broca's area contributes to language production, and research has identified regions within Broca's area that contribute to language in distinct ways (Poeppel, Emmorey, Hickok, & Pylkkänen, 2012; Sahin, Pinker, Cash, Schomer, & Halgren, 2009). Nevertheless, damage limited to Broca's area produces only minor or brief language impairment. Speaking activates much of the brain, mostly in the left hemisphere, and not just Broca's area (Wallesch, Henriksen, Kornhuber, & Paulson, 1985). Every area that contributes to language contributes to other behaviors as well, and the role of each area can change over time, especially in response to damage of another area (Blumstein & Amso, 2013). Subcortical areas are important, too. Substantial aphasia can result from damage to areas of the basal ganglia that lie interior to Broca's area of the cortex (Damasio, Damasio, Rizzo, Varney, & Gersh, 1982; Fyndanis, 2012; Naeser et al., 1982). In fact, most cases of Broca's aphasia related to combined damage to parts of the cortex, thalamus, and basal ganglia.