Hand Actions and Speech Representation in Broca's Area

This paper presents data and theoretical framework supporting a new interpretation of the role played by Broca's area. Recent brain imaging studies report that, in addition to speech-related activation, Broca's area is also significantly involved during tasks devoid of verbal content. In consideration of the large variety of experimental paradigms inducing Broca's activation, here we present some neurophysiological data from the monkey homologue of Brodmann's areas (BA) 44 and 45 aiming to integrate on a common ground these apparently different functions. Finally, we will report electrophysiological data on humans which connect speech perception to the more general framework of other's action understanding.