The Brain Receives Sensory Information And Directs Its Responses To

The brain receives sensory information and directs its responses to muscular responses. In the brain, neurons in the association areas integrate information. Association areas are areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher thinking and speaking. Association areas associate various sensory inputs with stored memories- a very important part of thinking. Different areas in the brain are involved with their own functions. Damage to the frontal lobe alters our ability to judge, plan, and process new memories. It can also make changes to our personality. Other areas, like the parietal lobes, are involved in mathematical and spatial reasoning. An underside of the right temporal lobe enables us to recognize faces. However, complex human abilities, such as language, can be altered by damage to any of the cortical areas; damage in any cortical area cause aphasia. Aphasia is the impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to the Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to the Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding). Different clues can help someone find out whether Mr. McGeorge has damage to the Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, or the angular gyrus. The Broca’s area is the area that controls language expression – an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs muscular movements involved in speech. Paul Broca discovered that if someone had damage to the Broca’s area, they would struggle to form words while still being able to sing familiar songs and comprehend speech. The Wernicke’s area controls language reception- a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe. Carl Wernicke discovered that after damage to the Wernicke’s area, people could only speak meaningless words. It would be hard for aperson to describe pictures. However, it was later derived that another area was involved in language. This area was called the angular gyrus. The angular gyrus receives visual information from the visual area and recodes it into auditory form, which Wernicke’s area uses to derive its meaning. Complex brain activities must work together in order to result in the success of speaking and understanding language. If there is any damage to any link in the chain results in staggered efficiency to speak. Normand Geschwind assembled clues into an explanation of how we use language. When you read aloud, the words register in the visual area, are relayed to the angular gyrus that transforms the words into an auditory code that is received an understood in the nearby Wernicke’s are and sent to Broca’s area, which controls the motor cortex, creating the pronounced word. Based on the information found, damage to the angular gyrus leaves the person able to speak and understand but unable to read. Damage to the Wernicke’s area disrupts understanding. Damage to the Broca’s area disrupts speaking. The patterns and clues found by Paul Broca, Carl Wernicke, and Normand Geschwind will lead one to the damaged area that affects Mr. McGeorge’s speech.