1977/05/01 by François Boller · 2 citations
Neuroscience · #Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
paper · doi:10.1001/archneur.1977.00500170060011
openalex publication_date 1977/05/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Wernicke is usually credited with the first significant description of comprehension disorders in aphasia. Before Wernicke, however, others had reported patients with impaired comprehension. This communication deals with one of those pioneer papers, that written by Schmidt, an obstetrician, in 1871. It concerns a 25-year-old woman who developed sudden language difficulty ten days after delivery. She had trouble understanding oral or written language. Through careful examination, Schmidt showed that she was neither deaf nor psychotic. He concludes his paper with a prediction of the area of the brain he suspected to be involved. Schmidt's paper represents an early, noteworthy effort to clarify the relations between brain and behavior.