The legacy of Dr. Paul Broca: Expanding views on language processing

Neuroscience and linguistics have benefited significantly from the foundational work of Dr. Paul Broca, whose research in the 19th century on the brain’s role in speech production paved the way for a modern understanding of language processing. Broca’s identification of the brain area responsible for coordinated speech movements — a region now termed “Broca’s area” — highlighted the cerebral localization of language function. Despite the advances since Broca’s time, questions linger about the precise mechanisms of speech production and the integration of linguistic processing with neural pathways, suggesting a need for ongoing research.

This Research Topic aims to expand upon Dr. Paul Broca’s pioneering findings on language production. It seeks to explore the neuroscience of language processing and cognitive linguistics. Researchers are encouraged to employ modern neuroimaging techniques, computational models, and cross-linguistic studies to uncover finer details of how Broca’s area and associated networks in the brain support speech and language processing.

We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Recent advances in neuroimaging of Broca’s area

2. Cross-linguistic comparisons of language production processes

3. Computational modeling of language processing and brain function

4. Historical analysis of Broca’s research and its influence on contemporary theories

5. Interdisciplinary approaches combining linguistics, psychology, and neurobiology

Keywords: speech, language, Broca, aphasia

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.