Discover how the human brain uses multiple networks — not just Broca and Wernicke — to process, predict and understand complex language and meaning.
If you’re on the Autism Spectrum, this article will be of particular interest.
Because language is so complicated, scientists have struggled for a long time to understand how it works in the brain.
For decades, the classical view held that there were two main language areas in the left side of the brain.
- Broca’s area in the frontal lobe was thought to handle producing language: talking, writing, typing, American Sign Language.
- Wernicke’s area in the temporal lobe was thought to handle understanding language, like listening or reading.
These areas are connected by a large fiber tract called the arcuate fasciculus.
Peter Hagoort is a Dutch neuroscientist who specializes in the neurobiology of language.
He says that the classical view is mostly wrong.
Language is far more complex than just speaking or understanding single words. Words are just the building blocks.
To understand a sentence such as, “She spent the whole week trying different pizza places to see who had the best pizza,” you need more than just the meanings of the words.
You need context, tone and world knowledge to really get what’s being spoken.
Multiple Language Areas
Recent research has shown that Broca’s and Wernicke’s regions actually contain multiple distinct areas.
New language areas have also been found beyond these classical regions, even into the parietal lobe.
Brain regions, viewed from left side. Brews ohare/creativecommons
There are more connections between areas than previously thought.
The traditional areas handle both comprehension (receptive language) and production (expressive language).
Other brain regions, like the right hemisphere and the cerebellum, also play a bigger role than once believed.
Language areas can even vary from person to person.
For example, in people born blind, language can extend into the occipital lobe, the part usually dedicated to vision.
Our brains process language incredibly fast.
As we combine the meanings of words, all relevant information becomes available almost immediately: fractions of a second.
The brain even predicts what will come next.
For example, if you hear “The teacher at the …” your brain might already anticipate “school.”
In conversation, speakers and listeners often share information in advance.
Speakers highlight new information with word order or pitch to focus the listener’s attention.
If something unexpected or ungrammatical occurs, the brain reacts.
But for familiar “old” information, listeners often process it in a “good enough” way.
That’s why minor errors or repeated info often go unnoticed.
Indirect Language and Intention
Language is also often indirect. To understand what someone really means, listeners must often infer the talker’s intention.
Now this gets very interesting when you consider autism.
In autism, something’s going on in the brain that makes the understanding (or reception) of inferred meanings often difficult.
This is why autistic individuals, such as myself, strongly prefer direct rather than inferred or nuanced communication. We don’t like trying to read between the lines or figure out intentions.
For instance, saying, “Gee, it’s hot in this room,” might actually be a request to open the window rather than a comment on the temperature.
Those on the Spectrum will be direct: “I’m opening a window; it’s hot in here.”
Brain studies show that making inferences or being indirect involves areas linked to “theory of mind.”
Theory of mind is the ability to understand that other people have their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs and perspectives that may differ from one’s own.
This helps people think about other people’s beliefs, emotions and desires.
A Multi-Layered System
Hagoort calls language a “complex biocultural hybrid.”
He challenges the old idea that syntax in Broca’s area is the essence of human language. Instead, he argues for a multiple brain-network view.
Some language operations overlap with other cognitive abilities, like music or arithmetic.
Given how multi-layered language is, it’s no wonder that the language-ready brain is so incredibly complex, says Hagoort.
The Takeaway
Hagoort believes that human language skills rely on multiple brain networks working together, not just one “language area.”
Using language involves way more than processing single words — it goes beyond the sounds or letters we hear and see.
Different brain networks each contribute their own unique roles to make language work.
