Receptive aphasia results from damage to which brain region?

• A. Broca's area (inferior frontal gyrus)
• B. Wernicke's area (superior temporal gyrus)
• C. Angular gyrus
• D. Hippocampus

Answer: (B)

Receptive aphasia happens when language comprehension areas are damaged. The brain region responsible is Wernicke's area, located in the dominant hemisphere within the superior temporal gyrus. When this area is damaged, a person can speak in fluent, well-formed sentences, but what they say may be nonsensical or irrelevant, and they struggle to understand spoken language or follow instructions.

Understanding how this differs from other language zones helps solidify the idea: Broca's area, in the inferior frontal gyrus, governs speech production and grammar, so damage there leads to nonfluent, effortful speech with relatively intact comprehension. The angular gyrus contributes to higher-level language tasks like reading and writing and integrating language with other senses; injury there can disrupt those functions. The hippocampus is tied to memory, not language processing, so it isn’t the source of receptive aphasia.