Aphasia Flashcards
What is aphasia?
Loss or defect of language (e.g., in speaking, fluency, reading, writing, comprehension of written or spoken material)
Most lesions involve which hemisphere?
Dominant
In 95% of R-handed people, the L cerebral hemisphere = dominant for language
In 50% of L-handed people, the L hemisphere is dominant for language
What are the four types of aphasia?
- Wernicke aphasia
- Broca aphasia
- Conduction aphasia
- Global aphasia
Causes of aphasia (4)
- Stroke. (most common cause)
- Trauma to brain
- Brain tumor
- Alzheimer disease
Wernicke aphasia
- Receptive, fluent aphasia
- Impaired comprehension of written or spoken language***
- Speech is grammatically correct / fluid / but does NOT make sense (pts articulate well but often use wrong words)
Broca aphasia
- Expressive, nonfluent aphasia
- Speech is SLOW and requires effort
- Short sentences
- Content is appropriate/meaningful
- Good comprehension
Conduction aphasia
- Disturbance in repetition
- Pathology involves connections b/w Wernicke and Broca areas
Global aphasia
Disturbance in all areas of language function (e.g., comprehension, speaking, reading, fluency)
Often associated with a R hemiparesis
Most common cause of aphasia?
Cerebrovascular disease
Location of Broca and Wernicke’s areas in relation to central sulcus
Broca: anterior to central sulcus (nonfluent)
Wernicke: posterior to central sulcus (fluent)
