Arcuate fasciculus
Arcuate Fasciculus
The Arcuate Fasciculus (pronounced: ar-KYOO-it fuh-SIK-yuh-luhs) is a bundle of neurons that connects two important areas of the brain, the Broca's area and the Wernicke's area.
Etymology
The term "Arcuate Fasciculus" originates from Latin, where "arcuatus" means "arched" and "fasciculus" means "small bundle". This refers to the arched shape and bundled structure of this neural pathway.
Function
The Arcuate Fasciculus plays a crucial role in language processing and speech production. It allows for the coordination between the Broca's area, which is involved in speech production, and the Wernicke's area, which is involved in understanding language. Damage to the Arcuate Fasciculus can result in conduction aphasia, a condition characterized by the inability to repeat words despite being able to understand and speak them.
Related Terms
- Neuron: A specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses; a nerve cell.
- Broca's area: A region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere (which is the left in about 95% of right-handed individuals and 70% of left-handed individuals) of the hominid brain with functions linked to speech production.
- Wernicke's area: One of the main areas of the human brain and is traditionally considered to reside in Brodmann area 22, which is located in the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere, which is the left in about 95% of right-handed individuals and 70% of left-handed individuals.
- Language processing: The way humans use words to communicate ideas and feelings, and how such communications are processed and understood.
- Speech production: The process by which thoughts are translated into speech. This includes the selection of words, the organization of relevant grammatical forms, and then the articulation of the resulting sounds by the motor system using the vocal apparatus.
- Conduction aphasia: A rare form of aphasia and is characterized by the inability to repeat words with intact spontaneous speech production and comprehension.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Arcuate fasciculus
- Wikipedia's article - Arcuate fasciculus
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski