Quick Vocabulary
aphasia: a disorder caused by the damage of some areas of the left hemisphere of the brain. Symptoms of aphasia are the inability to understand and construct complex sentences, phrases or words. Usually aphasia is caused by sudden head injury or a stroke.
Broca’s aphasia: a type of aphasia where patients lack the use of syntax while talking (aggrammatism)
Broca’s area: controls speech production, articulation and the understanding of language. This is located in the left frontal lobe.
“Tan” Case Study
- Tan was a stroke victim Paul Broca studied in 1861.
- He was named Tan because the only word he could say was “tan”.
- An autopsy revealed a lesion in the left frontal lobe.
The specific placement is now called Broca’s area.
Tan’s Brain
Conclusion: We can perceive that parts of the left frontal lobe, including Broca’s area, has the role of the “language center” in our brain. This case study supports the idea of the existence of biological correlates. It is suggested that Tan’s Broca’s area was damaged… thus, his motor speech skills diminished to the word “tan”. He was affected by the condition aphasia.