Verbal communication and the brain.

[Simetra7]

What part of the brain is involved in turning thoughts and ideas into verbal communication, and why are some people able to communicate their thoughts easily and fluently while others become tongue tied and find it difficult to put their thoughts into words?

 

[zoobyshoe]

A difficult question because I think any realistic answer would have to admit that a great deal of the brain is involved.

The two specific language centers of the brain are pretty well known, though, and these are Broca's Area on the left side of the left frontal lobe, and Wernicke's Area on the left temporal lobe.

Fluency of speech can be affected by many things, from impulse control problems in the right frontal lobe, to many different sorts of emotional and memory problems stemming from the limbic system.

I, personally, am not a very fluent speaker, and frequently have a hard time finding the word I want. Sometimes this seems to be a memory problem, and at others the result of being overly cautious about how my words will be recieved. It's hard to know how much of this is psychological, and how much is neurological.

There are batteries of neurological tests they can give people which are remarkably accurate indicators of some kind of malfunction in certain brain systems.
They can locate the specific area in which you have some kind of problem simply from how you perform on these tests, no kind of brainscan or EEG needed.

 

[honestrosewater]

Just a small note. You can learn more about the roles of different areas by studying what happens when they are damaged. Here's an intro to aphasia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphasia

 

[Simetra7]

Fluency of speech can be affected by many things, from impulse control problems in the right frontal lobe, to many different sorts of emotional and memory problems stemming from the limbic system.



There are batteries of neurological tests they can give people which are remarkably accurate indicators of some kind of malfunction in certain brain systems.
They can locate the specific area in which you have some kind of problem simply from how you perform on these tests, no kind of brainscan or EEG needed.

Is it possible that these types of malfunctions could be something that is passed on genetically, or are they more likely to be caused by outside influences.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Is it possible that these types of malfunctions could be something that is passed on genetically, or are they more likely to be caused by outside influences.

I haven't done much looking into genetic causes. I can't say anything definite about that.