A NEW PUZZLE FOR THE EVOLUTION OF SPEECH

We agree with MacNeilage's claim that speech stems from a volitional v ocalization pathway between the cingulate and the supplementary motor area (SMA). We add the vocal self-monitoring system as the first recru itment of the Broca-Wernicke circuit. SMA control for ''frames'' is su pported by wrong consonant-vowel recurring utterance aphasia and an im aging study of quasi-reiterant speech. The role of Broca's area is que stioned in the emergence of ''content,'' because a primary motor mappi ng, embodying peripheral constraints, seems sufficient. Finally, we re ject a uniquely peripheral account of speech emergence.