Redefining the role of Broca's area in speech
Abstract
Broca's area is widely recognized to be important for speech production, but its specific role in the dynamics of cortical language networks is largely unknown. Using direct cortical recordings of these dynamics during vocal repetition of written and spoken words, we found that Broca's area mediates a cascade of activation from sensory representations of words in temporal cortex to their corresponding articulatory gestures in motor cortex, but it is surprisingly quiescent during articulation. Contrary to classic notions of this area's role in speech, our results indicate that Broca's area does not participate in production of individual words, but coordinates the transformation of information processing across large-scale cortical networks involved in spoken word production, prior to articulation.
- Publication:
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- March 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1414491112
- Bibcode:
- 2015PNAS..112.2871F