A left-lateralized white matter tract associated with communication in domestic dogs.

The ability to communicate with conspecifics is an adaptive behavior important for survival and reproduction, particularly in lineages that evolved enlarged brains and complex social behavior. In humans, language is supported by a robust, left-lateralized white matter fiber tract called the arcuate fasciculus, which links Broca's and Wernicke's areas, the core neocortical language regions located in the frontal and temporal lobes, respectively. This tract is also present in chimpanzees, less substantial than in humans and either weakly leftwardly-asymmetric or not asymmetric.