Biohistory Jyournal, Summer, 2002

Research: Index > Requirements of humans: brain, language and music

The structure and function of the brain Requirements of humans: brain, language and music

Tsutomu Nakata, Professor Brain Research Institute, Niigata University

The ability to convey information through sound is a function shared by a rather large number of animals. The distinguishing characteristics of the speech function in humans are the coexistence of precision in movement and the wealth of content included. The former arose from the evolution of the brain function dealing with movement, while the latter arose from the evolution of the brain function dealing with information. During the long evolutionary process, these traits developed concurrently rather than sequentially. Put another way, superior intelligence did not create language, nor did language create superior intelligence. It happened that in the human brain, the evolution of the speech motor function evolved in the same environment as the higher development of intelligence.

A limited area in which the physiological function accompanying the reading function is The FG is the part used in common for most speech. LG, ITS, and TOS are the parts that function specifically for deciphering syllabic sound, kanji, and staff notation respectively. FG: fusiform gyrus / LG: lingual gyrus / ITS: inferior temporal sulcus / TOS: transverse occipital

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