Question

This person understands language, they can fully express language, but they have trouble understanding intonation, emotion in language and idioms. Where would you predict their brain damage is?

Answer 1

The damage is likely in the right hemisphere of the brain, as it is responsible for processing figurative language and emotional aspects of speech, which are the areas the person is struggling with.

Step-by-step explanation:

The individual's difficulties with understanding intonation, emotion in language, and idioms suggest that the brain damage is likely in the right hemisphere, which is associated with processing the non-literal and emotional content of language.

While damage to the left hemisphere, such as to Broca's or Wernicke's areas, typically results in aphasia, where the patient may have trouble producing language (Broca's aphasia) or understanding language (Wernicke's aphasia), damage to the right hemisphere can result in deficits in understanding the figurative aspects of speech such as idioms, facial expressions, body language, and emotional tone.

Therefore, in a patient who can still generate and understand language at a basic level but struggles with these more nuanced aspects of communication, we would predict that the damage is on the right side of the brain, potentially leading to what is sometimes referred to as a 'flat affect' in speech, where speech lacks normal emotional modulation.