Aphasia

Short Description or Definition

Aphasia, from the Greek term “aphatos” meaning “without language,” is a disorder caused by damage to the language areas of the brain. Depending on the type and severity of the damage, deficits may be noted in language comprehension and/or production and can include both the spoken and written modalities. Aphasia most commonly occurs secondary to stroke in which brain cells are deprived of oxygen, resulting in tissue death, but it can also be the result of degenerative disorders or traumatic brain injury. Aphasia can co-occur with other conditions including apraxia and dysarthria which are neurologically based motor disorders that can affect speech output.

Categorization

Historically, aphasia has been classified according to the region of the brain that is affected and the symptoms that are displayed. For example, damage to what is considered “Broca’s area,” the region anterior to the Rolandic fissure, often results in a nonfluent form of aphasia in which...