Broca’s Area: A Subtle Masterpiece
‘Tan, Tan’, he kept sputtering. A confused look all over his face, he looked around the room knowing what he was about to say but not seeming to utter the words. It was startling and heart-rending all at once. After a steady recovery from epilepsy, he and indeed everyone around him thought the rough times were coming to an end.
But alas! It was not to be so.
According to the inference of Dr. Paul Broca, the attending physician in his case:
He could no longer produce but a repeated twice in succession; regardless of the questions asked him, he always responded 'tan,tan' combined with varied expressive gestures. This is why throughout the hospital, he is only known by the name Tan’.
This was the case of Monsieur Leborgne, a Frenchman who was diagnosed with a debilitating condition. One, that would cause a life-changing impediment in his speech and unavoidably all other activities in his life. It was something he would live with till death all because of a defect in a minute region of his brain- the Broca’s area.
But what really is this Broca’s area?
A Brief Overview
From the image above, we can see that Broca’s area has a comfortable spot in our brain. It is always located on the dominant side of the brain, which for most is the left (except for our esteemed left-handed colleagues). It is seated in the inferior frontal gyrus. A term used by our ever eloquent scientists to describe the lowest part of an M-shaped structure in the brain mainly responsible for speech processes.
It’s function?
Well, this little unit has an overarching function as it is primarily responsible for controlling breathing patterns while speaking, language comprehension, and motor-related activities.
But wait…why am I reading all these? I’m not a scientist anyway so why bother learning about this stuff?
Permit my asking an itsy-bitsy question.
Can you confidently say that you’ve never wondered, even for one second, what makes it possible for you to talk? The ‘thing’ responsible for the words jumping out of your mouth once you think of them? Well, if you’re like me with an insatiable curiosity for things, kudos! You’ve come to the right place. If you haven’t come across that thought until now, don’t stress. I see you as an amazingly lucky person for stumbling upon this write-up. Read on and be enlightened.
For about a century and a half, this lilliputian portion of the brain has left scientists baffled as to how it goes about its activities. They knew that there was something in the brain called Broca’s area responsible for the flow of speech…but how did it do that?
According to later eye-opening research at Johns Hopkins University, it was discovered that the Broca’s area is more alive during the initial stages of speech.
Let’s take for example you are about to say ‘Onisotoyin(that’s me) is a handsome guy’(…what? It’s not entirely false, is it?…) your Broca’s area will be more active just before your lips start to move. The activities, which were discovered as a series of recordings from the surface of the brain, will then come to a halt as you begin speaking.
Why is this?
Well, contrary to previous presumptions that it played a role in speech formulations, it was ascertained thereafter that it carves out a blueprint for what will be said. It then surveils those words in order to emend them if the situation arises.
Broca’s area is something one would term ‘small but mighty’ as it does an exclusive job of coordinating and amalgamating information throughout the brain. These sterling qualities place it in a world of its own but sadly, does not exclude it from being prone to certain ailments as with most other members of the body.
Broca’s Aphasia
The sad story at the beginning of this article relates to the foremost malady affecting Broca’s area. It is known as Broca’s aphasia.
For most of us who have read up till this point(…without yawning or dozing…), we now have sufficient knowledge of what Broca’s area is and how it works.
But what is Broca’s aphasia?
Aphasia is a medical term used to describe a type of language disorder. It is gotten from two Greek words, ‘phanai’, meaning to speak, and ‘a' which is a negative prefix.
Merging the two words, we can infer that Broca’s aphasia is a defect in Broca’s area that negatively affects our ability to speak and perform verbal processes.
It can befall anybody and is no respecter of persons. People of all ages, races, nationalities, and genders can become likely victims of this disorder.
It can be really frustrating at times. Just imagine having a beautiful idea, or a nice compliment to give someone…but you just can’t say it.
Upsetting right?
Let’s visualize a person who wants to say ‘Onisotoyin is a handsome guy’. That is an alluring compliment(…I mean for me…), but a person with Broca’s aphasia will probably be only able to mouth the words ‘Onisotoyin…guy’ which is not pleasant.
Broca’s aphasia can be caused by a variety of factors ranging from simple injuries on the brain to full-blown brain tumors. However, it has been scientifically proven that the most common cause of Broca’s aphasia is a stroke.
Symptoms of Broca’s aphasia may include; challenges in composing complete sentences, poor or absent grammar, even omitting certain words(as in the example above).
Well, this is all pretty sad but is there any cure?
There is currently no actual cure for Broca’s aphasia as medical treatments are still under review.
Interestingly, a novel method of therapy called melodic intonation is gradually gaining momentum. It takes advantage of the fact that aphasic patients(those with aphasia) still retain their musical abilities which are then being used as a substitute for normal speech.
So what’s in store for those with Broca’s aphasia? Any sure hope?
Looking at the bigger picture, how can something so small as Broca’s area possess the ability to turn one’s life around in a second probably with just a blow to the head?
Well, these questions may be left unanswered for years to come.
If you liked this article, you’re sure to enjoy this one; 5 Wonders of the Human Kidney You Didn’t Think Exists.
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