Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
Neuroimage. 2010 Oct 1;52(4):1230-7. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.05.018. Epub 2010 May 20.
Despite over 140 years of research on Broca's area, the connections of this region to medial frontal cortex remain unclear. The current study investigates this structural connectivity using diffusion-weighted MRI tractography in living humans. Our results show connections between Broca's area and Brodmann's areas (BA) 9, 8, and 6 (both supplementary motor area (SMA) in caudal BA 6, and Pre-SMA in rostral BA 6). Trajectories follow an anterior-to-posterior gradient, wherein the most anterior portions of Broca's area connect to BA 9 and 8 while posterior Broca's area connects to Pre-SMA and SMA. This anterior-posterior connectivity gradient is also present when connectivity-based parcellation of Broca's area is performed. Previous studies of language organization suggest involvement of anterior Broca's area in semantics and posterior Broca's area in syntax/phonology. Given corresponding patterns of functional and structural organization of Broca's area, it seems well warranted to investigate carefully how anterior vs. posterior medial frontal cortex differentially affect semantics, syntax and phonology.
尽管对布罗卡区的研究已经超过 140 年，但该区域与内侧前额叶皮层的连接仍不清楚。本研究使用活体人类的弥散加权 MRI 轨迹追踪技术来研究这种结构连接。我们的结果显示，布罗卡区与布罗德曼区（BA）9、8 和 6 之间存在连接（BA6 尾部的补充运动区（SMA）和 BA6 前部的前扣带运动区）。轨迹遵循从前向后的梯度，布罗卡区最前部与 BA9 和 BA8 相连，而后部的布罗卡区与前扣带运动区和 SMA 相连。当基于连接的布罗卡区划分进行时，也存在这种前后连接梯度。先前关于语言组织的研究表明，前布罗卡区参与语义，后布罗卡区参与句法/音韵。鉴于布罗卡区的功能和结构组织具有相应的模式，因此有必要仔细研究内侧前额叶皮层的前侧和后侧如何对语义、句法和音韵产生不同的影响。
