Which area of the brain was first correctly associated with a specific function? I have read on this website that Broca's area was the first area of the brain to be associated correctly with a specific function, in that case language. But I couldn't find any other source for the statement, so I wonder if this statement is true. Any idea?
Broca is generally considered the first person to localise structure to function, however, there are some earlier individuals to consider:



EDIT: i recommend the chapter Neurolinguistics from the Middle Ages to the Pre-Modern Era: Historical Vignettes in: Stemmer, B. &amp; Whittaker, H.A. (1998). Handbook of Neurolinguistics. Academic Press: London.
it has a very thorough look at this topic as it relates to language localisation and cites a number of case studies published well before broca. there are some departures from what i have written below and whittaker seems to give more significance to bouillaud's work. of note, bouillaud identified the significance of the double-dissociation paradigm in demonstrating the localisation of function:

Bouillaud  claims  first  to  be  able  to  demonstrate that  speech  movements  may  be  compromised  separately  from  limb  movements  and
second  to  demonstrate  which  part  of  the  hemispheres  is  involved  in  the  control  of  speech  movements.  To  prove  his  first  claim  he  states  that  two  actions  are  functionally  separate  if  they  can  be  disrupted  in  isolation  from  each  other,  which  is  evident  for three  cases  in  which  a  severe  speech  disorder  was  not  accompanied  by  any  impairment  of  limb  movement  or  by  any  defect  of  nonspeech  tongue  movements.  Thus,  speech has  its  own  motor  control  center.

wittaker notes that broca wasn't the first to localise language to the frontal lobe, but the political and scientific climate was such that he was essentially credited for this. in 1859, for example, he had founded the French Anthropological Society, which by the early 1860s had already commenced debating the cerebral localisation of mental functions.




Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828)
Known as the father of phrenology. Most will generally mock gall for this theory, but you need to appreciate his ideas in context: he was the first to propose that the brain is the organ of an individual's faculties, tendencies and feelings. Of relevance to relating structure to function:

Gall did not study patients with acquired loss of speech but instead, studied the bumps and protrusions on the skill of highly musical persons... Gall localised the music faculty (Tonsinn) in a specific location of the brain, which was in close proximity to the area for language.

Kennaway, J. Music and the Nerves, 1700-1900.

Jean-Baptiste bouillaud (1796-1881)
Another alternative. In 1825 he wrote:


Finger, S. (2001). Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function.


Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens (1794-1867)
But perhaps the most compelling of the three is flourens:

... in 1825 Flourens carried out localised lesions of the brain in living pigeons and rabbits, observing the effects on motricity, sensility and behaviour. These experiences demonstrated convincingly for the first time that the main division of the brain were indeed responsible for largely different functions. When the cerebral hemispheres were removed, for example, all perceptions, motricity, and judgement ended. When the cerebellum was removed, the animal's equilibrium and motor coordination suffered. When the brainsteam was removed, the result was death. Thus [he] concluded that the cerebral hemispheres are responsible for higher cognitive functions, the cerebellum for regulating and integrating movements, and the medulla for vital functions, such as circulation, respiration and general bodily stability.

Eiss, H. (2014). Insanity and Genius: Masks of Madness and the Mapping of Meaning and Value.