Wernicke's area

Wernicke's area (/ˈvɛərnɪkə/; German: [ˈvɛɐ̯nɪkə]), sometimes referred to as Wernicke's speech region, is one of the two principal regions of the brain associated with language, the other being Broca's area. This region plays a major role in understanding both spoken and written language, while Broca's area is mainly responsible for producing speech. Traditionally, Wernicke's area has been described as lying within Brodmann area 22 in the superior temporal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere, typically the left hemisphere in roughly 95% of right-handed individuals and about 70% of left-handed people.

Damage to this region typically produces a form of receptive, fluent aphasia. People with this condition usually speak with normal flow and rhythm, yet their utterances lack meaningful content. This contrasts with non-fluent aphasia, in which a person may use meaningful words but struggles to form smooth, connected speech, instead speaking in short, telegraphic fragments.

The developmental course of Wernicke's area suggests that its contribution to language changes across childhood. Research on the maturation of neural pathways linked to this region indicates that it supports the growing sophistication of both language comprehension and production as children develop.