MIT Finds 17 More Language Regions in 772 Brain Scans as Network Still Uses 5%
Updated
Updated · The Brighter Side of News · Aug 9
MIT Finds 17 More Language Regions in 772 Brain Scans as Network Still Uses 5%
3 articles · Updated · The Brighter Side of News · Aug 9
Summary
fMRI scans from 772 participants showed language processing extends beyond classic left-hemisphere speech centers into 17 additional regions, including the cerebellum, hippocampus, amygdala, medial frontal cortex and temporal lobe.
Sentence-versus-nonsense-word tests isolated meaningful language activity, and comparisons with a spatial-memory task showed many of the newly mapped areas responded more strongly to language than to general problem-solving.
Five of the 17 added regions were in the cerebellum, while others linked language with memory, emotion and coordination, suggesting the brain integrates words with stored knowledge, tone and timing.
All identified language-responsive regions together occupy about 5% of brain volume, a compact footprint that could reshape research on language disorders, rehabilitation and learning.