8 types of aphasias that make language difficult

You are probably familiar with the term lapse. It is when we cannot find that word we want to say or, instead of saying what we want, another different word comes out. This experience can give you an idea of ​​what the types of aphasias are.

Aphasias are disorders that make both the production and processing of language difficult. This usually results from some type of localized brain injury, as indicated by the US National Institutes of Health (NHI). Depending on where the injury occurred, we will find 8 different types of aphasias.

It is necessary to mention that The most common cause of aphasia is cerebral infarction., although they also usually arise from violent blows or accidents. Can you imagine speaking the way you do, but others not understanding you? This is one of the consequences of a trauma or stroke that may indicate that you have aphasia.

We are going to explore the 8 types of aphasias that have been defined, in which we will include significant examples of people who suffered from them. These examples have been taken from the book The language de Yule, a linguist who has dedicated himself to studying everything related to the subject.

1. Broca’s aphasia

Broca’s aphasia is also known as motor aphasia. Imagine that you want to express what you feel, but you are not able to do it normally or quickly.

People with this type of aphasia cannot articulate words clearly. This requires a great effort for them to convey what they want. It produces the well-known sensation of “having something on the tip of your tongue.” But it happens with every word and not punctually.

In this type of aphasia, the person who suffers from it usually uses only nouns and verbs. We have an example of this in the following phrase uttered by an anonymous person who suffered from it: «I eat eggs and eat and drink coffee for breakfast».

If Broca’s aphasia is more severe, we may encounter sentences of the following type: “My cheek… very annoying… first shoulder… everything hurts here” either “Un volente… you know what I mean… len… volente” (he is referring to a sailboat).

The person struggles to make sense of what they want to say, but cannot find the words they need.. She understands everything they say to her; Her problem is the linguistic resources she has to be able to utter a sentence. Although in her mind she has the complete and meaningful sentence, when it comes to pronouncing it, she cannot articulate it.

Brain injury is the common factor in the different types of aphasia.

Main features

According to an article by StatPearlsthe main characteristics of this aphasia are the following:

Spontaneous language is slow and not very fluent. It takes a lot of effort and usually uses short words and phrases.Phonetics and phonology presents dysarthrias (difficulty articulating sounds). Phonemes are also omitted and consonant clusters are reduced. There is presence of phonological paraphasias.Morphosyntax presents agrammatism (morphological and grammatical deficiencies in the construction of sentences) and there is telegraphic language.Reading aloud is also altered: It is slow, difficult and choppy.The writing has spelling errorsso it also appears altered.Presence of aprosodythat is, absence of rhythm, tone and accent in speech.Listening comprehension is maintained relatively preserved.The repetition is altered.

2. Wernicke’s aphasia

In the case of Wernicke’s aphasia, the person who suffers from it speaks perfectly, can say sentences fluently and with little effort. The big problem arises when others have to understand what you are saying, the experts clarify.

The person with this aphasia believes that they speak normally and clearly, but they do not realize that they may confuse words in their speech. He doesn’t realize that his answers to specific questions don’t make any sense. An example would be: «I can’t talk about all the things I do and part of the part I can do well, but I can’t say about other people».

There is a lack of concreteness and many terms have not been chosen appropriately. Sometimes, People with this type of aphasia resort to multiple descriptions to try to get others to visualize the object they are referring to.

An example would be the following sentence in which a person with Wernicke’s aphasia is referring to an ashtray, but since he is not able to make himself understood, he says: «In the thing to put cigarettes in it».

3. Conduction aphasia

Conduction aphasia is one in which people who suffer from it can speak fluently and occasionally mispronounce a word. Although they have no problems saying sentences, it is true that sometimes they do so in a halting manner, with many pauses and doubts.

The big problem that people with conduction aphasia have is that They are not able to repeat a phrase or word said by another. When they have to do so, they transform words or phrases into others that make no sense, they hesitate, they pause a lot, and they find themselves blocked from conveying what they want.

They also have serious difficulties reading.

4. Mixed transcortical aphasia

This aphasia is quite rare compared to the other types.

Although people with this aphasia They do not understand language nor are they able to produce it normally, Yes, they can repeat what another person just said. However, they do not understand what they are repeating.

The verbal expression of these patients, therefore, is reduced to echolalia (repetitions of what others vocalize). Furthermore, they are unable to name images that are presented to them, that is, they They cannot point to something and say the noun that corresponds to it..

5. Transcortical motor aphasia

Transcortical motor aphasia is very similar to Broca’s, since language is understood. Nevertheless, repeats and also preserves prosody, that is, rhythm and intonation of your message. Although listening comprehension is maintained, there are difficulties with complex sentences and problems appear in reading and writing.

6. Sensory transcortical aphasia

In this disorder, symptoms similar to other types of aphasia are observed. For example, Wernicke’s aphasia, as highlighted in a doctoral thesis.

The person is unable to understand the language they produce. However, the replication of sounds is preserved, so it is common to see them repeat the last words of their interlocutor.

Furthermore, although his speech is incongruous to others, there are not so many neologisms or paraphasias. That is, he uses words closer to what he really needs. Writing is affected and reading aloud preserved, but they do not understand what they read.

There is frequent use of terms such as “thing” or “something.”

7. Anomic aphasia

This type of aphasia is quite particular. In it, the patient has fluent speech, understands it and is able to repeat it. Where is the problem? In finding the nouns you need.

That is, he is a person who often interrupts his speech because he cannot find the word he wants. Many detours are made to say what is intended.

This is one of the types of aphasias that only affect the production of nouns. Writing to dictation is good, although it fails when it is spontaneous.

8. Global aphasia

The latter is the most serious of all types of aphasia and the one with the worst prognosis. The person has lost the ability to understand language, produce it and repeat it (or a large part of these capabilities). He can’t read or write. Speech consists only of a few single words.

All types of aphasias are treated together

As you can imagine, aphasia is a very limiting disorder, especially when it comes to the global form and those that present with anosognosia, such as Wernicke’s. Speech and language therapy helps many people improve their communication.

To this day it continues to be one of the most studied topics, although there is no cure. The interdisciplinary approach is essential to improve the quality of life of patients.

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