Aphasia - Pathophysiology and Clinical Findings Broca's Aphasia - Expressive language impairment: non-Fluent - Sensory speech areas still intact (posterior superior temporal lobe) → Intact comprehension (intact hearing & reading) - Impaired function of Broca's Area → ↓output or generation of speech/text - If function of nearby motor areas is also impaired → Contralateral hemiparesis (face, arm > leg) - If function of other nearby areas is also impaired → Impaired naming and repetition Wernicke's Aphasia - Receptive language impairment/Fluent: the person can talk but their speech is nonsensical: - Motor speech areas still intact (inferior frontal lobe) → Fluent (but non-sensical) speech output - Impaired function of Wernicke's Area → Impaired comprehension (i.e. cannot understand speech or text) - Loss of sensory speech input to motor areas → Errors in word usage, tense, structure - If function of nearby sensory areas is impaired → Contralateral sensory deficits #Aphasia #Pathophysiology #diagnosis #signs #symptoms #Brocas #Wernickes #neurology
