MIT reveals broader brain network supporting language

MIT analyzed fMRI data from 772 participants and found language processing engages a broader, yet compact, network beyond classic language centers, identifying 17 additional regions across the cerebellum, hippocampus, amygdala, medial frontal cortex, and temporal lobe (five in the cerebellum) that connect memory, emotion, and coordination to language, totaling about 5% of the brain’s volume—hinting at a distributed system that could reshape how we understand language disorders and learning.