# Why are humans special?
**URL:** https://discourse.numenta.org/t/why-are-humans-special/4912
**Category:** Lounge
**Tags:** philosophy
**Created:** [November 8, 2018, 12:36pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/why-are-humans-special/4912 "2018-11-08T12:36:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@vpuente](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/vpuente)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/why-are-humans-special/4912/22 "2020-07-23T14:45:15Z")
Such compensation mechanism is consistent across species. The paper clearly states that there is not “specialness” in connectivity (in fact, I think, that speech center for complex language doesn’t exist at all. Like conscienceless, complex language is just a emergent property of the cortex).
[Seems like the paper’s findings are consistent with the Mountcastle’s Common Cortical Algorithm (CCA) hypothesis]
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### Author:  [@Bitking](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/Bitking)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/why-are-humans-special/4912/23 "2020-07-23T19:44:45Z")
> [@vpuente](#):
>
> I think, that speech center for complex language doesn’t exist at all.
Um, how I answer depends on what you might be trying to say.
Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas are a thing, with well defined functions and with damage producing well known and stereotyped speech deficits.
> **[Wernicke's area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke%27s_area)**
>
> Wernicke's area (/ˈvɛərnɪkə/; .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}German: \[ˈvɛɐ̯nɪkə\]), also called Wernicke's speech area, is one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex that are linked to speech, the other being Broca's area. It is involved in the comprehension of written and spoken language, in contrast to Broca's area, which is prima...
> **[Broca's area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broca%27s_area)**
>
> Broca's area, or the Broca area (/ˈbroʊkə/, also UK: /ˈbrɒkə/, US: /ˈbroʊkɑː/), is a region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere, usually the left, of the brain with functions linked to speech production.
> Language processing has been linked to Broca's area since Pierre Paul Broca reported impairments in two patients. They had lost the ability to speak after injury to the posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pars triangularis) (BA45) of the brain. Since then, the approximate region he iden...
The fiber tracks joining areas constrain “what” is processed by the cortical algorithm, with speech functions being located roughly on both ends of the Arcuate\_fasciculus.
> **[Arcuate fasciculus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcuate_fasciculus)**
>
> In neuroanatomy, the arcuate fasciculus (AF; from Latin 'curved bundle') is a bundle of axons that generally connects the Broca's area and the Wernicke's area in the brain. It is an association fiber tract connecting caudal temporal cortex and inferior frontal lobe.
> The arcuate fasciculus is a white matter tract that runs parallel to the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Due to their proximity, some researchers refer to them interchangeably. They can be distinguished by the location and function...
Even within an area there are variations in the cortical structure that can be observed with staining and relatively low power microscopes. This is how Brodmann was able to make his maps:
> **[Brodmann area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodmann_area)**
>
> A Brodmann area is a region of the cerebral cortex, in the human or other\[citation needed\] primate brain, defined by its cytoarchitecture, or histological structure and organization of cells. The concept was first introduced by the German anatomist Korbinian Brodmann in the early 20th century. Brodmann mapped the human brain based on the varied cellular structure across the cortex and identified 52 distinct regions, which he numbered 1 to 52. These regions, or Brodmann areas, correspond with div...
Since that time many lines or research have confirmed that these areas have well defined functions.
So - the areas do have functions defined by connectivity, and evolution has tuned the local cortical structures to process the information that is presented by this connectivity.
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### Author:  [@vpuente](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/vpuente)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2020, 9:24am UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/why-are-humans-special/4912/24 "2020-07-24T09:24:05Z")
> [@Bitking](#):
>
> Um, how I answer depends on what you might be trying to say.
I acknowledge that my statement was a bit “harsh” 🙂
> [@Bitking](#):
>
> Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas are a thing, with well defined functions and with damage producing well known and stereotyped speech deficits.
Of course, these areas intervene in the understanding and generation of language, but they are not finalists. If we assume that language processing is pipelined, those zones are just one more “stage” (as, for example, could be the auditory cortex). It is evident that if the auditory cortex is damaged, we will not be able to understand speech.
What makes us different from other mammals is the large volume of our PFC. Basically we are able to “predict” more complex sequences (including complex language). Just that.
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