The Hidden Orchestra: How Ancient Systems Underlie Speech

Key points

Injury to different brain regions produces different speech and language issues at the same linguistic level.

Levels of linguistic planning follow a sensorimotor-like architecture.

Internal feedback loops in the brain catch speech errors before they occur.

This post is Part 2 of a series. Read Part 1 here .

Although speech and language ability is relatively new in our evolutionary history—our ape cousins can’t speak—it may be built on a foundation that nature has used for millions of years: the basic architecture of sensorimotor control. This insight is reshaping our understanding of how language works in the brain and why certain types of brain damage produce specific patterns of speech difficulties.

Building on Ancient Foundations

Evolution rarely invents entirely