10-Jan-2008
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 Locating Language: The neural circuitry for speech and language is typically localized in the left hemisphere of the brain, along a region called the Sylvian fissure that stretches from Broca's area to Wernicke's. Researchers are searching for the genes that wire these regions and produce the uniquely human capacity for speech. Broca's area, highlighted above in green, is associated with speech and language output. Wernicke's area, highlighted in red, is associated with language comprehension. Credit: John MacNeill |
While behavioral genetics compares the genes of people with different abilities, evolutionary biology compares the genes of different species. Researchers use this data to determine what limits other species' communication skills and what expanded ours so dramatically that language became one of our defining characteristics. Geschwind's own forays into evolutionary bi ology have led him to look at DNA in the brains of chimpanzees, monkeys, and even songbirds. (...)