What is Wernicke's Area?
The Wernicke's area is named after Carl Wenicke, an influential member of the nineteenth-century German school of Psychoneurosis. The members viewed all mental illnesses as resulting in defects of the brain's physiology. Wernicke made major discoveries in brain anatomy and pathology. He believed that abnormalities could be localized to specific regions of the cerebral cortex, and as a result this could be used to determine the functions of these regions.
In 1873, Wernicke came across a patient who had suffered a stroke. Although the man could speak and hear, he couldn't understand anything the was said or written to him. After the man had passed away, Wernicke discovered a lesion in the rear parietal/temporal part of the left brain. Wernicke inferred that this part of the brain was involved in speech comprehension. Wernicke named this condition "Aphasia." Today many people refer to it as "Wernicke's Aphaisa," and the affected area is called Wernicke's area. In recent research, scientists believe this handicap is involved with semantic processing, and referred to as the receptive language area.
In 1873, Wernicke came across a patient who had suffered a stroke. Although the man could speak and hear, he couldn't understand anything the was said or written to him. After the man had passed away, Wernicke discovered a lesion in the rear parietal/temporal part of the left brain. Wernicke inferred that this part of the brain was involved in speech comprehension. Wernicke named this condition "Aphasia." Today many people refer to it as "Wernicke's Aphaisa," and the affected area is called Wernicke's area. In recent research, scientists believe this handicap is involved with semantic processing, and referred to as the receptive language area.