Lesson 1White-matter pathways: arcuate fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus — roles in repetition and integrationThis section analyses major white-matter tracts, including arcuate, uncinate, and superior longitudinal fasciculi, describing their anatomy, connectivity, and roles in repetition, lexical–semantic integration, and dorsal–ventral language streams.
Arcuate fasciculus and repetition circuitrySuperior longitudinal fasciculus and dorsal streamUncinate fasciculus and semantic integrationInferior fronto-occipital fasciculus in readingDisconnection syndromes and conduction aphasiaLesson 2Auditory processing pathway for speech perception: from cochlea to brainstem nuclei to primary auditory cortex and higher-order processingThis section traces the auditory pathway for speech, from cochlea through brainstem nuclei and thalamus to primary and secondary auditory cortices, detailing temporal and spectral analysis, phonemic mapping, and early speech–nonspeech differentiation.
Cochlear transduction and frequency decompositionBrainstem nuclei and binaural processingMedial geniculate body and thalamic gatingPrimary auditory cortex and phonemic encodingSecondary auditory areas and speech–nonspeech parsingLesson 3Stepwise neural sequence when hearing a question and answering aloud: auditory decoding, comprehension, formulation, motor planning, execution, and feedback monitoringThis section follows the neural sequence from hearing a question to answering aloud, covering auditory decoding, comprehension, conceptual formulation, lexical selection, motor planning, execution, and feedback monitoring across distributed networks.
Auditory decoding of the spoken questionSyntactic and semantic comprehension stagesConceptualization and message formulationPhonological encoding and motor planningExecution, monitoring, and error correctionLesson 4Primary sensorimotor cortices: primary motor cortex (speech motor areas), primary somatosensory cortex, primary auditory cortexThis section reviews primary motor, somatosensory, and auditory cortices, emphasising their cytoarchitecture, somatotopy and tonotopy, and how these primary areas support articulation, speech feedback, and integration with higher language regions.
Somatotopy of the primary motor speech areasOrofacial representation in primary somatosensory cortexTonotopic maps in primary auditory cortexCortical columns and cytoarchitecture in M1 and S1Integration of sensory feedback during articulationLesson 5Right hemisphere contributions: prosody, pragmatics, discourse-level processing, visuo-spatial and affective aspectsThis section examines right hemisphere roles in prosody, pragmatics, discourse, and visuospatial and affective processing, highlighting interhemispheric coordination and clinical syndromes that follow right hemisphere damage affecting communication.
Acoustic and linguistic prosody processingPragmatic inference and conversational implicatureDiscourse macrostructure and coherence buildingVisuospatial context in communication cuesAffective prosody and emotional interpretationLesson 6Association and multimodal regions: inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, angular and supramarginal gyriThis section focuses on association and multimodal regions, including inferior frontal, superior temporal, angular, and supramarginal gyri, explaining their roles in phonology, semantics, syntax, reading, and cross-modal integration for language.
Inferior frontal gyrus and phonological working memorySuperior temporal gyrus and lexical accessAngular gyrus in semantic and conceptual integrationSupramarginal gyrus in phonological mappingMultimodal convergence and reading networksLesson 7Neural control of speech motor output: cortical planning, corticobulbar tracts, cranial nerve nuclei (V, VII, IX, X, XII) and motor executionThis section explains neural control of speech motor output, from cortical planning through corticobulbar tracts to cranial nerve nuclei, detailing motor execution, reflex modulation, and feedback mechanisms that maintain fluent, intelligible speech.
Cortical planning in premotor and SMA regionsCorticobulbar tract organization and lateralityCranial nerve nuclei for speech musculatureMotor execution and articulatory timingAuditory and somatosensory feedback controlLesson 8Subcortical structures and cerebellum: basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellar contributions to speech timing, motor learning and prosodyThis section explores basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum in speech, emphasising timing, motor learning, prosody, and initiation, and relating their dysfunction to dysarthria, stuttering, hypophonia, and ataxic speech patterns.
Basal ganglia loops and speech initiationThalamic relay and modulation of language signalsCerebellar timing and articulatory coordinationMotor learning and adaptation in speechSubcortical contributions to prosody controlLesson 9Cortical language centers: Broca’s area (anatomical boundaries, cytoarchitecture) and Wernicke’s areaThis section details cortical language centres, emphasising Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, their anatomical boundaries, cytoarchitecture, connectivity, and distinct contributions to speech planning, syntax, lexical access, and comprehension.
Anatomical boundaries of Broca’s areaCytoarchitecture of inferior frontal language cortexAnatomical boundaries of Wernicke’s areaPosterior temporal cortex and lexical semanticsFunctional connectivity between Broca and Wernicke
