title: The language connectome: new pathways, new concepts.
abstract: The field of the neurobiology of language is experiencing a paradigm shift in which the predominant Broca-Wernicke-Geschwind language model is being revised in favor of models that acknowledge that language is processed within a distributed cortical and subcortical system. While it is important to identify the brain regions that are part of this system, it is equally important to establish the anatomical connectivity supporting their functional interactions. The most promising framework moving forward is one in which language is processed via two interacting "streams"--a dorsal and ventral stream--anchored by long association fiber pathways, namely the superior longitudinal fasciculus/arcuate fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and two less well-established pathways, the middle longitudinal fasciculus and extreme capsule. In this article, we review the most up-to-date literature on the anatomical connectivity and function of these pathways. We also review and emphasize the importance of the often overlooked cortico-subcortical connectivity for speech via the "motor stream" and associated fiber systems, including a recently identified cortical association tract, the frontal aslant tract. These pathways anchor the distributed cortical and subcortical systems that implement speech and language in the human brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA adick@fiu.edu.
authors.forename: Anthony Steven
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Dick
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Miami Children's Hospital, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Byron
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bernal
authors.affiliation: Université Laval and Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé mentale de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tremblay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D063132:Connectome; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology
keywords: arcuate fasciculus; cortico-bulbar tract; cortico-striatal loops; dorsal stream; language; motor stream; ventral stream; white matter