Paul Broca’s Case Study Brianna Jones, Cristina Derespinis, Danielle LaFleur, Sana Khatri

Pierre-Paul Broca French surgeon 1861

Case Patient had lost the use of speech Could no longer pronounce more than a single syllable Whenever a question was asked patient replied tan, tan, in conjunction with varied expressive gestures

Theory Left side of cortex, involved with the production of speech, was damaged

Diagnosis After conducting autopsy, Large lesion, abnormality in the tissue, in the frontal area posterior inferior frontal gyrus Suffered from Aphasia, communication disorder after injury to the Broca’s area

Findings The left inferior frontal gyrus of the brain was determined to be the center for speech, today called Broca's area First discovery of the separation of function between the left and right hemispheres of the brain First indications that specific brain functions exist in particular locations in the brain There is a connection between the anatomy of the brain and what the brain does

Discussion Questions How would you communicate with someone suffering from Aphasia? How would you communicate if you had Aphasia? How did the discovery of the separate functions between the left and right hemisphere of the brain affect psychology? What type of injuries can cause the Broca’s area to be damaged? Compare the brain and functions of language- impaired patients versus normal patients.

Works Cited N. F. Donkers, O. Plaisant, M. T. Iba-Zizen and E. A. Cabanis(2007). Paul Broca's Historic Cases.http://psychclassics.asu.edu/Broca/perte-e.htm T. Teter (2000). Pierre- Paul Broca.http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/broca. htm Bulletin de la Société Anthropologique (2003). Loss of Speech, Chronic Softening and Partial Destruction of the Anterior Left Lobe of the Brain.http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Broca/perte-e.htm