|
Lateralization refers to the ability of the brain to have particular areas specialize in certain functions. The brain is mainly
split up into hemispheres, and the left hemisphere is the one responsible for the production and comprehension of language.
This concept of specialization in the brain was discovered by Paul Broca and Wernicke, when they realized that damage to specific
parts of the brain resulted in different effects. Brocas discovery came with a patient named Tan because Tan was the only
word he could utter. This patient had sustained injuries to an area in the left hemisphere of the brain now known as Brocas
area. Tan and other individuals that suffer from Brocas aphasia have difficulty with syntax and articulation because this
area is responsible for grammatical processing. Wernickes discovery was similar in that he found that damage to another area
in the left hemisphere resulted in nonsensical speech with lexical selection errors, even though articulation was still preserved.
These two instances are the first discoveries of brain lateralization, but this concept is further developed in the 1960s
and 1970s through the use of split-brain experiments. Through the use of these experiments, scientists are able to gauge the
activity occurring in particular areas of the brain. Below is data taken from split-brain experiments regarding Brocas and
Wernickes aphasia.
|
