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Judging the giants on who’s shoulders we stand

2018-06-22

In the 1860s Pierre Paul Broca proclaimed to have found the seat of articulatory language. One hundred and fifty years later, it is unlikely to find a person studying the brain who has not heard of “Broca’s area” – a term designating to a cortical region in the left hemisphere’s frontal lobe. An abundant amount of studies support Broca’s area’s involvement in language processing. However, modern neuroscience has long shifted its central paradigm. No longer do we believe that a single brain region is the sole basis of cognitive function as complex as language, with its numerous sub-functions. The present article discusses the current and histological implications of Broca’s work. Though published as a scientific article, we tried to bridge the gap between review article and a respectful remark. Although we surely “speak with our left hemisphere”, the truth is certainly more complex.

Friedrich P, Anderson C, Schmitz J, Schlüter C, Lor S, Stacho M, Ströckens F, Grimshaw G & Ocklenburg S. (2019). Fundamental or forgotten? Is Pierre Paul Broca still relevant in modern neuroscience? Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 24:2, 125-138, DOI: 10.1080/1357650X.2018.1489827.

In the 1860s Pierre Paul Broca proclaimed to have found the seat of articulatory language. One hundred and fifty years later, it is unlikely to find a person studying the brain who has not heard of “Broca’s area” – a term designating to a cortical region in the left hemisphere’s frontal lobe. An abundant amount of studies support Broca’s area’s involvement in language processing. However, modern neuroscience has long shifted its central paradigm. No longer do we believe that a single brain region is the sole basis of cognitive function as complex as language, with its numerous sub-functions. The present article discusses the current and histological implications of Broca’s work. Though published as a scientific article, we tried to bridge the gap between review article and a respectful remark. Although we surely “speak with our left hemisphere”, the truth is certainly more complex.

Friedrich P, Anderson C, Schmitz J, Schlüter C, Lor S, Stacho M, Ströckens F, Grimshaw G & Ocklenburg S. (2019). Fundamental or forgotten? Is Pierre Paul Broca still relevant in modern neuroscience? Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 24:2, 125-138, DOI: 10.1080/1357650X.2018.1489827.