A region of the brain located in the frontal lobe of the cerebral hemisphere (see cerebrum), just anterior to and below the primary motor cortex, concerned with speech generation. It is named after the French neurosurgeon Paul Broca (1824–80), who found that damage to this area caused speech deficits in his patients. Broca’s area is one of several regions that are involved in processing language and producing speech; it sends impulses to the primary motor cortex, which in turn instructs the vocal apparatus to articulate words. It also seems to be crucial for learning the rules of language and giving meaning to speech. Broca’s area receives inputs via a large bundle of nerves (the arcuate fasciculus) from Wernicke’s area in the temporal lobe, which is concerned more with processing language inputs, whether as speech or written words. These language areas occur most commonly in the left cerebral hemisphere (in 90% of right-handed and 70% of left-handed persons).