title: Evolution of the neural language network.
abstract: The evolution of language correlates with distinct changes in the primate brain. The present article compares language-related brain regions and their white matter connectivity in the developing and mature human brain with the respective structures in the nonhuman primate brain. We will see that the functional specificity of the posterior portion of Broca's area (Brodmann area [BA 44]) and its dorsal fiber connection to the temporal cortex, shown to support the processing of structural hierarchy in humans, makes a crucial neural difference between the species. This neural circuit may thus be fundamental for the human syntactic capacity as the core of language.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1A, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. friederici@cbs.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Angela D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Friederici
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D065711:Broca Area / Q000502:physiology*; D032882:Comprehension; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cognitive neuroscience; Implicit sequence and artificial grammar learning; Language comprehension