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Historical Introduction to Models of Language and Aphasia

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Historical Introduction to Models of Language and Aphasia View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE Review article provided by Bern Open Repository and Information System (BORIS) Language and brain: historical introduction to models of language and aphasia Heinz Krestel Department of Paediatric Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Switzerland Funding / potential competing interests: No financial support and no other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article were reported. Summary that the tissue softening spread evenly in all directions. From Broca’s original description, it can be deduced that the A paradigm shift occurred when Paul Broca (1824–1880) assigned the site of third-frontal convolution as the origin of the language defi- language to cerebral convolutions of the left hemisphere against the then cit was his extrapolation because a) the third-frontal con- prevailing dogma by Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828) that language and other volution presented the largest tissue loss, and b) the missing cognitive functions reside in brain regions/organs that develop and form the posterior half of this gyrus was in the centre of the entire skull accordingly. Further models (localisationistic or associationistic) by e.g., t issue loss (p. 353). He also noticed the cavity’s extension to Carl Wernicke (1848–1905), Ludwig Lichtheim (1845–1928) focused on the corpus striatum and its communication with the lateral l anguage processing as being locally specialised. In 1906, a denial of the role ventricle, i.e., to subcortical regions including the oval of the third-frontal convolution in language by Pierre Marie (1853–1940) c entre and the basal ganglia. Of note is that the theory of challenged Joseph Jules Dejerine (1849–1917) who was then one of the motor or Broca’s aphasia was for a long time associated with leading aphasiologists. The Paris congress in 1908 about aphasia marked a (cortical) lesions to the posterior third of the inferior frontal climax in the controversy regarding localisationistic and holistic models; gyrus, and that only recently subcortical lesions became c ertain questions concerning aphasia, as well as the assumed localisations preferentially associated with long-term sequelae of Broca’s of language centres, needed to be revised. “Obviously, the human need to aphasia including nonfluent language, compared to cortical l ocalise had established a sort of cerebral chessboard with circumscribed lesions that produced rather short-lasting deficits [3, 4]. compartments.” [1]. Existing models (including the Dejerines’) were pro- Broca postulated that the first disease period of Leborgne gressively replaced by more non-localisationistic or holistic models including with isolated motor aphasia (which Broca called aphe mia the ones by S. Freud (1856–1939) and C. von Monakow (1853–1930). An- and which was later renamed to aphasia) corresponded to other paradigm shift occurred with the neo-associationist school around Nor- tissue softening of a (lefthemispheric) frontal gyrus (proba- man Geschwind (1926–1984) towards rediscovery of localisationistic models bly the third), while a second period with progressive and disconnection syndromes. Today, imaging techniques move the under- r ight-sided hemiparesis corresponded to a progress of the standing of both language-related neuroanatomy and cerebral functioning to softening to the corpus striatum. Subsequently the impaired new levels. intelligence should have been caused by softening of the Key words: neuroanatomy, language, aphasia, history, holistic, localisationistic whole frontal lobe with generalised chronic meningitis and brain atrophy (p. 355–6). For Broca, this was the proof that the site of language was not localised in the basal forebrain on top of the eye socket, as was then taught by Franz Joseph The first language concepts based on systematic Gall. Gall proposed that brain regions or “organs” are the site of cognitive and character traits which form the skull ac- | downloaded: 13.3.2017 clinico-neuroanatomical correlations cording to their use and can be deduced from the skull’s in- Paul Broca founded his theory of speech localisation accord- ner surface [5]. Instead, brain function could be assigned to ing to cerebral gyri on two index patients, namely Leborgne cerebral convolutions, which was a shift in paradigm. and Lelong. Of Leborgne he wrote in his seminal publication “Der aphasische Symptomenkomplex” by Carl Wernicke in 1861, “the left hemisphere contains an elongated cavity of [6] was another important early step in the development of the size of a hen’s egg at the level of the sylvian fissure language concepts and their anatomical localisation. Wer- which corresponds to a loss of cerebral mass” [2, p. 349]. nicke noticed that, “Broca’s area is not the only one which Broca concluded that the tissue loss was, “a very slowly pro- works as a language centre” (p. 16), and that, “the most gressive chronic tissue softening, because the lack of any cases with aphasia, in whom Broca’s area was unaffected, sign of elevated intracranial pressure excluded the suspected showed alterations in that region which was claimed by diagnosis of a brain tumour” (p. 348). He further assumed M eynert” (the entire perisylvian region, author’s annota- tion) (p. 15). Wernicke concluded that, “the entire region Correspondence: of the first (primitive, author’s annotation) convolution, Heinz Krestel, MD e ngulfing the sylvian fissure, and including the insular cor- Department of Paediatric Neurology, Inselspital tex serves as language centre. The first frontal convolution Bern University Hospital and University of Bern https://doi.org/10.7892/boris.53837 (according to François Leuret (1797–1851) and correspond- CH-3010 Bern ing to today’s inferior frontal gyrus, author’s annotation) is Switzerland heinz-krestel[at]insel.ch the centre of the motor articulation images, the first tempo- source: SWISS ARCHIVES OF NEUROLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY 2013;164(8):262–5 www.sanp.ch | www.asnp.ch 262 Review article ral convolution […] is the centre of the sound images, the l esion localisation. Nevertheless, the Dejerines’ model was f ibrae propriae, radially converging in the insula, form the regarded as localisationistic which was amongst others re- psychic reflex arc. (p. 18–19) Wernicke at first did not relate lated to the perception of Joseph Jules Dejerine as chair of his f ibrae propriae to the (superior longitudinal fasciculus/) the clinic for diseases of the nervous system, and his remain- arcuate fasciculus (SLF/AF) described previously by Frie- ing scientific work including his publications about alexia drich Burdach (1776–1847) and Johann Christian Reil without agraphia which was one of the classical disconnec- (1759–1813). Wernicke wrote, “that to his knowledge, the tion syndromes with a defined lesion localization [7]. Lan- fibrae propriae had not been described elsewhere, but pro- guage models were categorised as either localisationistic (in- vide m ajor evidence for the relevance of the first primitive cluding associationistic models), or holistic, based on convolution, converge radially into the insula, thereby giv- whether they focused on language processing as being lo- ing the insula the impression of a functional centre (p. 17).” cally specialised (without/with inter connected brain re- Wernicke was not to correct his view until 1908 that the gions) or less tightly allocated to distinct brain regions, re- idea of a psychic reflex arc and assumedly the fibrae propriae spectively. Pierre Marie, who would later be a forerunner of c orresponded to the AF [7, 8]. The high degree of connectiv- holistic psychology, turned away from the so-called localisa- ity of the perisylvian region and particularly of the claus- tionalists, or diagram makers, who, a ccording to his opinion, trum appeared as a good anatomical prerequisite for the did not correctly interpret anatomo pathologial data. He re- l ocalisation of language to Wernicke, who explicitly adapted garded even his former s upervisor, Paul Broca, who had the idea of the perisylvian region (the claustrum was be- identified the left frontal lobe as a faculty of language, as a lieved by Meynert to be the accustic cortex which is now localisationalist. The question, whether a cerebral localisa- known to reside in Heschl’s cortex in the superior temporal tion of higher, or in the broadest sense intellectual, brain gyrus) from Theodor von Meynert (1833–1892). The same functions existed and if so to what extent, formed the back- reasoning of the claustrum’s intense connectivity was used ground of the controversy about aphasia. This basic conflict 150 years later as a potential indicator for the site of con- affected European brain r esearch for the entire 19th century sciousness which is now believed (at least for viscero-so- and paved the way for trends in neuroscience for the 20th matic afferences) to reside in the anterior insula [9, 33]. century. Localisationistic thinking began with Franz Joseph Ludwig Lichtheim (1845–1928) was Professor of Medi- Gall’s phrenology, which assigned character traits to defined cine at Bern university hospital when he wrote his work brain regions that develop, form the skull, and can thus be “Über Aphasie” [10] that was built in particular on the recognised from the skull’s inner surface [5]. Paul Broca’s p ublications of Broca, Wernicke and Adolf Kussmaul (1822– publication in 1861 was the first to localise a clinical deficit 1902). To the author’s knowledge, Lichtheim was the first of convolutions in the brain [16, p. 141]. This publication who introduced a systematic analysis of language abilities heralded a scientific revolution and also created a dilemma. such as spontaneous speech, speech and writing compre- Until then, the cerebral cortex, with its convolutions, had hension, spontaneous writing, dictation writing, writing been reserved for higher brain functions, i.e., for all abilities copying, loud reading and speech repetition. He classified that distinguished man from animal. Broca’s publication language disorders into seven aphasias [10, pp.
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