Aphasias are disturbances in the comprehension or production of spoken or written language. Clinical examination should assess spontaneous speech (fluency), comprehension, repetition, naming, reading, and writing. A classification scheme is presented in Table 57-1. In nearly all right-handed individuals and many left-handed pts, language localization is in the left hemisphere.
COMPREHENSION | REPETITION OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE | NAMING | FLUENCY | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wernicke’s | Impaired | Impaired | Impaired | Preserved or increased |
Broca’s | Preserved (except grammar) | Impaired | Impaired | Decreased |
Global | Impaired | Impaired | Impaired | Decreased |
Conduction | Preserved | Impaired | Impaired | Preserved |
Nonfluent (anterior) transcortical | Preserved | Preserved | Impaired | Impaired |
Fluent (posterior) transcortical | Impaired | Preserved | Impaired | Preserved |
Isolation | Impaired | Echolalia | Impaired | No purposeful speech |
Anomic | Preserved | Preserved | Impaired | Preserved except for word-finding pauses |
Pure word deafness | Impaired only for spoken language | Impaired | Preserved | Preserved |
Pure alexia | Impaired only for reading | Preserved | Preserved | Preserved |
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