Aphasia
Aphasia is a total or partial loss in the ability to use or understand language. It is an acquired disorder and does not include developmental conditions, pure motor problems such as stammering, or thought disorders.
Aphasia is often classified as fluent, non fluent, and pure (see table).
The following are the important types of aphasia to be aware of the for membership exams:-
Wernicke's Aphasia (aka semantic aphasia)
This occurs due to a lesion in Wernicke's area (posterior region of the left superior temporal gyrus).
The main feature is impairment in auditory comprehension. The speech is fluent but meaningless (often referred to as cocktail party speech). Comprehension and expression are equally affected.
Conduction aphasia
This results from damage to the arcuate fasciculus which connects Wernicke's to Broca's area.
Poor repetition in comparison to problems with comprehension and spontaneous expression is the hallmark of this syndrome.
Broca's aphasia
This follows damage to Broca's area (Brodmann areas 44 and 45) which is in the frontal lobe.
Speech is characteristically non fluent but comprehension is intact. It is often accompanied by agraphia (inability to write).
Anomic aphasia
Naming or word finding problems are the major feature of the syndrome. Grammar is unaffected and repetition is good. Auditory comprehension is relatively intact.
Anmoic aphasia is localised with the least reliability of any of the aphasic syndromes. The lesion is often temporal parietal area. The angular gyrus may also be affected.
Aphasia is often classified as fluent, non fluent, and pure (see table).
| Aphasia | Types |
|---|---|
| Fluent (receptive) aphasia | Wernicke's aphasia, anomic aphasia, conduction aphasia, transcortical sensory aphasia |
| Non fluent (expressive) aphasia | Broca's aphasia, transcortical motor aphasia, global aphasia |
| Pure aphasia | Pure alexia, pure agraphia, pure word deafness |
The following are the important types of aphasia to be aware of the for membership exams:-
Wernicke's Aphasia (aka semantic aphasia)
This occurs due to a lesion in Wernicke's area (posterior region of the left superior temporal gyrus).
The main feature is impairment in auditory comprehension. The speech is fluent but meaningless (often referred to as cocktail party speech). Comprehension and expression are equally affected.
Conduction aphasia
This results from damage to the arcuate fasciculus which connects Wernicke's to Broca's area.
Poor repetition in comparison to problems with comprehension and spontaneous expression is the hallmark of this syndrome.
Broca's aphasia
This follows damage to Broca's area (Brodmann areas 44 and 45) which is in the frontal lobe.
Speech is characteristically non fluent but comprehension is intact. It is often accompanied by agraphia (inability to write).
Anomic aphasia
Naming or word finding problems are the major feature of the syndrome. Grammar is unaffected and repetition is good. Auditory comprehension is relatively intact.
Anmoic aphasia is localised with the least reliability of any of the aphasic syndromes. The lesion is often temporal parietal area. The angular gyrus may also be affected.
