The cerebral cortex and language !

Concept
For completeness

Different areas of the cortex handle movement, sensation and language; damage to each one causes a typical problem.

Updated 2026-11-01

Also called: Aphasias, Broca and Wernicke

See it in 3D: Broca's area · Wernicke's area · Frontal lobe · Corpus callosum · Motor cortex · Sensory cortex · Middle cerebral artery

What it is

The cortex is divided into primary areas (motor, sensory, visual, auditory), association areas that integrate information, and specialised regions such as the language network. In most people language depends on the left hemisphere: Broca area in the frontal lobe for producing speech, Wernicke area in the temporal lobe for understanding it, linked by the arcuate fasciculus. Aphasias are classified by fluency, comprehension and repetition.

Key facts

Primary motor cortex lies in the precentral gyrus and primary somatosensory cortex in the postcentral gyrus, each with a body map (homunculus).
Primary auditory cortex is in the transverse temporal gyrus; primary visual cortex surrounds the calcarine sulcus.
The corpus callosum links the two hemispheres; when it is cut, information shown only to the right hemisphere cannot be named.
Broca aphasia often comes with right face and arm weakness because the motor cortex for those parts is nearby.

Aphasias by fluency, comprehension and repetition

Aphasia	Fluency	Comprehension	Repetition	Lesion
Broca	Non-fluent	Relatively preserved	Impaired	Inferior frontal gyrus (upper division of the MCA)
Wernicke	Fluent	Impaired	Impaired	Posterior superior temporal gyrus (lower division of the MCA)
Conduction	Fluent	Preserved	Very impaired	Arcuate fasciculus or supramarginal gyrus
Global	Non-fluent	Impaired	Impaired	Large left MCA territory
Transcortical motor	Non-fluent	Preserved	Preserved	Frontal watershed area
Transcortical sensory	Fluent	Impaired	Preserved	Temporoparietal watershed area

Clinical notes

Sudden aphasia is a stroke sign until proven otherwise; time to treatment determines how much brain is saved.
Gerstmann syndrome (dominant angular gyrus): agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia and left–right confusion.
Primary progressive aphasias are neurodegenerative diseases that begin with language loss.

Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

A patient speaks fluently but makes no sense and cannot follow commands, and seems unaware of the problem. Where is the lesion?

Wernicke area in the posterior superior temporal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere, usually the lower division of the left middle cerebral artery.

What distinguishes conduction aphasia from Broca and Wernicke aphasia?

Speech is fluent and comprehension preserved, but repetition is severely impaired, because the arcuate fasciculus linking the two areas is damaged.

Why does Broca aphasia often come with right arm and face weakness?

Broca area lies next to the face and arm region of the left motor cortex, and both are supplied by the upper division of the left MCA.

A right parietal stroke makes a patient ignore the left side of their body and space. Why is this rarer after left parietal strokes?

The right hemisphere attends to both sides of space, while the left attends mainly to the right; after a left lesion the right hemisphere compensates.

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See it in 3D

The structures of Durgical's 3D anatomy where it happens.

← All of physiology

Educational physiology content; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. Values are approximate references. No doses are given.

Sources: 16.2 The Mental Status Exam (OpenStax (Rice University), 2022); Neuroanatomy, Broca Area (StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf), 2024); Neuroanatomy, Wernicke Area (StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf), 2024); Neuroanatomy, Cerebral Cortex (StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf), 2024); Hall JE. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, 13th ed. (ch. 58). Reference book used to check facts; its text and figures are not reproduced (Elsevier, 2016).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.