Louis Victor Leborgne (“Tan”)

Louis Victor Leborgne was a patient of Paul Broca. “Monsieur Leborgne,” as Broca would call him, was also known around in the hospital by the nickname “Tan.” His neurologic condition left him with difficulty in speaking, and he could only speak the word “Tan.” Leborgne spent nearly half of his entire life in the hospital. He was initially admitted into the psychiatry division of the hospital and was later transferred under the care of Broca toward the end of his life. The story of the Leborgne sits in the crossroads of human thoughts that led to the discovery of cerebral localization. It is the objective of this study to describe the circumstances associated with this patient, which led the great thinkers of that time to discover the language localization in the cerebral cortex. Leborgne's condition was the cornerstone in the evolution of this discovery. More than 150 years have passed since the death of Leborgne, yet Leborgne's brain continues to attract researchers investigating the mysteries of human speech.