Which structure connects the brain’s language comprehension and speech-production regions?

The arcuate fasciculus connects the brain’s language comprehension and speech-production regions.

This curved bundle of white-matter nerve fibers links posterior temporal regions, traditionally associated with language comprehension, with inferior frontal regions involved in speech production. It is part of the larger language network, predominantly in the left hemisphere for most right-handed people and many left-handed people.

Damage to this pathway has classically been associated with conduction aphasia. Affected people may understand speech and produce fluent speech but struggle to repeat words or sentences accurately, particularly when the material is complex. Modern research shows that language networks are distributed and more complicated than a simple two-area diagram.

The arcuate fasciculus is not a single cable with one isolated job. It includes direct and indirect pathways and differs in structure among individuals. It also contributes to phonological working memory and the mapping between heard speech and spoken output.