Definition of Wernicke's area in English:
Wernicke's area
nounˈwəːnɪkəzˈvɛː-ˈve(ə)rnikēz
Anatomy A region of the brain concerned with the comprehension of language, located in the cortex of the dominant temporal lobe. Damage in this area causes Wernicke's aphasia, characterized by superficially fluent, grammatical speech but an inability to use or understand more than the most basic nouns and verbs.
Example sentencesExamples
- They found that a portion of Wernicke's area, which is believed to control language comprehension and auditory processing, was significantly enlarged in stutterers.
- The autistic group showed more activity in Wernicke's area, and less activity in Broca's area.
- The study involved twins in Finland and focused on gray matter in the frontal lobes and Wernicke's area.
- In contrast, Wernicke's aphasia is characterized by fluent articulation coupled with severely impaired comprehension.
Origin
Late 19th century: named after Karl Wernicke (1848–1905), German neuropsychiatrist.