compromised in some patients and may contribute to their comprehension deficits for complex morphosyntactic structures. Broca's area as a key center in the linking of phonemic sequences Broca's area has been previously associated with a variety of processes, including phonological segmentation, syntactic processing, and unification, all of which involve segmenting and linking different types of linguistic information. Although repeating and reading single words does not engage semantic and syntactic processing, it does require an operation linking phonemic sequences with motor gestures. Findings indicate that this linkage is coordinated by Broca's area through reciprocal interactions with temporal and frontal cortices responsible for phonemic and articulatory representations, respectively, including interactions with the motor cortex before the actual act of speech. Based on these unique findings, it has been proposed that Broca's area is not the seat of articulation, but rather is a key node in manipulating and forwarding neural information across large-scale cortical networks responsible for key components of speech production. History In a study published in 2007, the preserved brains of both Leborgne and Lelong (patients of Broca) were reinspected using high-resolution volumetric MRI. The purpose of this study was to scan the brains in three dimensions and to identify the extent of both cortical and subcortical lesions in more detail. The study also sought to locate the exact site of the lesion in the frontal lobe in relation to what is now called Broca's area with the extent of subcortical involvement. Broca's patients Louis Victor Leborgne (Tan) Leborgne was a patient of Broca's. At 30 years old, he was almost completely unable to produce any words or phrases. He was able to repetitively produce only the word tan. After his death, a neurosyphilitic lesion was discovered on the surface of his left frontal lobe. Lelong Lelong was another patient of Broca's. He also exhibited reduced productive speech. He could only say five words, 'yes', 'no', 'three', 'always', and 'lelo' (a mispronunciation of his own name). A lesion within the lateral frontal lobe was discovered during Lelong's autopsy. Broca's previous patient, Leborgne, had this lesion in the same area of his frontal lobe. These two cases led Broca to believe that speech was localized to this particular area. MRI findings Examination of the brains of Broca's two historic patients with high-resolution MRI has produced several interesting findings. First, the MRI findings suggest that other areas besides Broca's area may also have