Wernickes

Wernicke's area refers to a region of the brain in the dominant hemisphere that is essential for language comprehension. It is typically located in the posterior part of the left superior temporal gyrus, with Brodmann area 22 commonly cited, though exact boundaries vary among individuals and may extend into nearby temporal or parietal regions.

The area processes auditory language signals, enabling understanding of spoken language and mapping sounds to meaning. It integrates phonological input with lexical and semantic representations and works with other language areas, including Broca's area in the inferior frontal gyrus, via the arcuate fasciculus, to support comprehension and, to some extent, repetition.

Wernicke's aphasia results from damage to this region, often due to stroke in the left middle cerebral artery territory. It is characterized by fluent, well-articulated speech that is frequently nonsensical or empty in content, with impaired comprehension, poor repetition, and salient semantic or phonemic paraphasias. Patients may have limited awareness of their language deficits, and writing can be affected as well.

History and scope: The area is named for Carl Wernicke, who proposed its role in language in the 19th century, complementing Paul Broca's discovery of a nearby speech production center. Modern neuroscience views language as a distributed network, with individual variability in exact borders. Imaging and clinical studies continue to refine the understanding of Wernicke's area and its connections.