Broca

Meaning: Broca's area sits in the inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe, in the left hemisphere for most people, next to the motor cortex that controls the mouth and tongue. It plans and coordinates the production of spoken language and grammar. Damage causes Broca's aphasia (expressive or nonfluent aphasia). Speech becomes slow, effortful, and telegraphic, with mostly content words and few small function words. Comprehension is largely preserved, and patients are often frustrated because they know what they want to say.

On the MCAT: Broca's area is almost always tested against Wernicke's area in the temporal lobe. A vignette describes a patient who understands questions and follows commands but can say only a few words. That points to Broca's. A patient who speaks fluently but produces meaningless speech and cannot understand others points to Wernicke's. You may also see the arcuate fasciculus, the fiber tract linking the two areas. Damage to it mainly impairs repeating words (conduction aphasia). In the classic pathway for repeating a heard word, Wernicke's area comes first, then the arcuate fasciculus, then Broca's area, then the motor cortex.

Common confusion: Students swap the two areas. Remember that Broca means production and Wernicke means comprehension. Broca's aphasia is also not paralysis of the speech muscles. The muscles work, but the planning of language output is impaired.