Neurogenic Communication Disorders: Aphasia

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering neuroanatomy, stroke mechanisms, aphasia classifications, assessment methods, neuroplasticity, and intervention approaches.

Neurogenic Communication Disorders

Brain-based communication disorders attributed to disease or damage in the nervous system that can affect speech, language, and/or cognition; typically acquired and more commonly observed in adults.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The division of the nervous system consisting of the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord; responsible for controlling and regulating almost all motor, sensory, and cognitive processes.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The neural structures outside the CNS composed of spinal nerves and cranial nerves that transmit sensory and motor signals to and from the CNS for voluntary and involuntary activity.

Cranial Nerves

Twelve pairs of nerves exiting through the brainstem (labeled I through XII) providing sensory and/or motor innervation to the head, neck, and viscera; speech-language pathologists and audiologists focus primarily on nerves V, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII.

Cerebrum

The largest portion of the brain composed of left and right hemispheres containing specialized areas for receiving, organizing, and producing language, with contralateral control over body functions.

Frontal Lobe

The anterior cerebral lobe responsible for planning motor movements, problem solving, thinking, organizational skills, and impulse control.

Parietal Lobe

The cerebral lobe situated superior to the occipital and posterior to the frontal lobe, responsible for processing incoming sensory information.

Temporal Lobe

The lateral cerebral lobe responsible for processing auditory information, storing visual memories, and understanding visual stimuli.

Occipital Lobe

The posterior cerebral lobe dedicated to receiving and processing incoming visual information.

Gyrus

A raised fold, convulsion, or ridge on the cerebral cortex surface (plural: gyri).

Sulcus

A shallow furrow or groove on the cerebral cortex surface (plural: sulci).

Fissure

A deep groove or cleft on the surface of the brain separating large regions or lobes.

Broca's Area

A specialized cortical region located exclusively in the left frontal lobe that is responsible for motor planning and verbal expression of speech and language.

Wernicke's Area

A specialized cortical region located exclusively in the left temporal lobe that is responsible for the comprehension and understanding of spoken language.

Cerebellum

Structure located beneath the cerebrum meaning 'little brain', divided into two hemispheres, and responsible for motor skills, movement coordination, and balance.

Brain Stem

The stem-like structure connecting the brain to the spinal cord that regulates involuntary, automatic life-sustaining functions (such as breathing, swallowing, and sleep/wake cycles) and serves as the exit pathway for cranial nerves.

Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)

Commonly known as a stroke; vascular brain damage caused by disruption of blood flow (clot or hemorrhage), typically occurring on one hemisphere; approximately $75\%$ occur in individuals over $65$ years of age, representing the second leading cause of death worldwide.

Ischemia

A restriction or blockage of blood supply to brain tissue, accounting for approximately $80\%$ of all strokes.

Thrombosis

A stationary blood clot that forms directly within a cerebral blood vessel, causing an ischemic vascular occlusion.

Embolism

A blood clot or debris that originates outside of the brain, travels through the circulatory system, and lodges within a cerebral artery.

Cerebral Hemorrhage

A type of stroke that occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds into surrounding neural tissue, accounting for roughly $20\%$ of CVAs.

Cerebral Aneurysm

An abnormal bulge or ballooning in the weakened wall of a cerebral artery that can rupture, cause intracranial bleeding, and lead to a hemorrhagic stroke.

BEFAST

An acronym identifying stroke symptoms and required action: Balance loss/dizziness, Eyes/vision changes, Face drooping, Arm/leg weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 911 immediately.

Aphasia

An acquired neurogenic language disorder caused by brain damage (predominantly in the left hemisphere) that impairs language processing; most often caused by stroke ($25\text{--}40\%$ of stroke survivors).

Receptive Language

The comprehension modalities of language, consisting of auditory comprehension (listening skills) and reading comprehension (written text interpretation).

Expressive Language

The production modalities of language, consisting of verbal expression (formulating ideas into speech) and written expression (formulating ideas into writing).

Paraphasia

The unintended production of incorrect syllables, sounds, or words during language generation; includes phonemic, verbal, and neologistic types.

Phonemic (Literal) Paraphasia

A speech error where sounds or syllables are substituted or rearranged while retaining at least half of the intended word's original phonetic structure (e.g., 'dat' for 'hat' or 'tephelone' for 'telephone').

Verbal (Semantic) Paraphasia

A paraphasic error where an unintended real word with a related or shared semantic category is substituted for the intended target (e.g., saying 'son' for 'daughter' or 'orange' for 'apple').

Neologistic Paraphasia (Neologism)

A paraphasic error involving the creation and substitution of an entirely non-real, invented word that bears no phonetic or semantic resemblance to the target word (e.g., calling a toothbrush a 'slunker').

Fluent Aphasia

A broad category of aphasias characterized by effortless, prosodically intact speech with normal phrase length, which often contains reduced meaningful content or 'word salad' (e.g., Wernicke's, Transcortical Sensory, Conduction, Anomic).

Nonfluent Aphasia

A broad category of aphasias characterized by slow, halting, effortful speech output, telegraphic syntax, and reduced utterance length (e.g., Broca's, Transcortical Motor, Global).

Wernicke's Aphasia

A fluent aphasia caused by left posterior superior temporal lobe damage, marked by fluent speech with impaired semantics, severely impaired auditory comprehension, inability to repeat, absence of motor paralysis, and poor insight into deficits.

Transcortical Sensory Aphasia

A fluent aphasia resulting from lesions near Wernicke's area, presenting with fluent paraphasic speech, poor auditory comprehension, no motor paralysis, and an intact ability to repeat.

Conduction Aphasia

A fluent aphasia characterized by effortless speech production, relatively intact auditory comprehension, frequent phonemic/literal paraphasias, no body paralysis, and disproportionately impaired repetition.

Anomic Aphasia

A milder fluent aphasia characterized by significant word-finding pauses ('tip of the tongue'), intact repetition, relatively preserved auditory comprehension, no body paralysis, and frequent use of circumlocution or vague words.

Circumlocution

A compensatory verbal strategy or symptom where the individual talks around an unretrieved target word by describing its attributes, characteristics, or use.

Broca's Aphasia

A nonfluent aphasia caused by left inferior frontal damage, presenting with effortful, telegraphic speech, poor repetition, relatively intact auditory comprehension, frequent right-sided hemiparesis, and acute awareness of errors.

Transcortical Motor Aphasia

A nonfluent aphasia caused by damage anterior or superior to Broca's area, characterized by effortful, halting speech, right-sided hemiparesis, relatively intact comprehension, and intact repetition.

Global Aphasia

The most severe form of aphasia caused by extensive perisylvian damage; marked by severe deficits across all expressive and receptive language modalities (speaking, listening, reading, writing), impaired repetition, and right-sided hemiparesis.

Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)

A focal neurodegenerative language disorder typically caused by frontotemporal dementia, characterized by a gradual and progressive loss of language capabilities in the absence of an acute vascular event.

Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R)

A standardized assessment tool for adults aged $18$ to $89$ with acquired neurological disorders to evaluate linguistic and nonlinguistic skills, provide differential diagnosis, and determine aphasia type and severity.

Spontaneous Recovery

The natural biological reorganization and re-establishment of neurological functions and communication abilities occurring independently of clinical intervention following an acute brain injury.

Neuroplasticity

The physiological capacity of the central nervous system to adapt, structurally reorganize, and form novel synaptic connections in response to environmental input, learning, or targeted rehabilitation.

Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA)

A collaborative philosophy of aphasia intervention that prioritizes re-engaging the individual in authentic, meaningful everyday activities and communication environments to maximize quality of life.