Gender-Related Morphology of Broca’s Motor Speech Area

Objectives. To study the general patterns and differences in macroscopic appearances of Broca’s speech motor area in the left and right hemispheres of the brain in men and women. Materials and methods. The study was conducted using MRI images of the brains of nine men and nine women (36 hemispheres in total). All men and women were between 20 and 30 years old and had no mental or neurological diseases. The localizations and structures of the main sulci and gyri of Broca’s speech motor area, i.e., the triangular and opercular areas, were studied; the topography of the main sulci in Broca’s speech motor area, their shape, length, and relationship with other sulci were also analyzed. Results. These studies identified features of the localization of sulci in Broca’s area and differences in the numbers of additional sulci in the triangular and opercular areas of Broca’s speech motor area in the brains of men and women, as well as the degree of asymmetry of Broca’s area in the left and right hemispheres of the brains of men and women. Conclusions. Broca’s speech motor area shows differences in macroscopic structure in the brains of men and women.