Patient "Tan," studied by the neurologist Broca, had great difficulty in generating spontaneous speech and was unable to utter any word other than the nonsense syllable "tan." Postmortem autopsy of Tan's brain revealed
A)abnormal EEG signals from the left frontal operculum.
B)a lesion in the left inferior frontal cortex.
C)cerebral hemorrhage in the right inferior frontal lobes.
D)demyelination in a region of the left anterior frontal lobes.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Broca's area, located in the left inferior frontal cortex, is responsible for speech production and language comprehension. Tan's difficulty in generating spontaneous speech and inability to produce any word other than "tan" indicates damage to this region. Autopsy confirmed that Tan had a lesion in the left inferior frontal cortex, which is consistent with Broca's area.

Patient "Tan," Studied by the Neurologist Broca, Had Great Difficulty