Selective damage to Brodmann area 44 in the dominant hemisphere produces which precisely defined deficit?
- A Impaired comprehension of spoken language with fluent paraphasia
- B Non-fluent aphasia with intact comprehension and poor repetition
- C Non-fluent aphasia with intact comprehension and preserved repetition ✓
- D Pure word deafness with preserved reading
Correct answer: C. Non-fluent aphasia with intact comprehension and preserved repetition
Explanation
Brodmann area 44 (pars opercularis, part of Broca's area) generates motor speech programs; its isolated destruction causes non-fluent, effortful speech with relatively spared comprehension. Because the arcuate fasciculus, which subserves repetition, is spared in a purely cortical area-44 lesion, repetition is intact — this is transcortical motor aphasia. Area 44 plus 45 together form the full Broca region; damage to both impairs repetition as well. Wernicke's area (area 22) governs comprehension; pure word deafness involves auditory cortex bilaterally.
Reference: BD Chaurasia's Human Anatomy, 8th ed.
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