Arcuate Fasciculus

The arcuate fasciculus is the thick bundle of myelinated axons which links the Broca's area to the Wernicke's area, which are the two language centers of the brain. Thus, the arcuate fasciculus fibers go from the inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe to the back area of the superior temporal gyrus and a small area in the parietal lobe and vice versa. The function of this bundle of nerve fibers is to articulate or coordinate the motor verbal function of the Broca's area and the semantic and syntactic comprehension of the Wernicke's area. Damage to the arcuate fasciculus can cause a form of aphasia known as conduction aphasia, where auditory comprehension and speech articulation are preserved, but people find it difficult to repeat heard speech.