Aphasia

(ah-fa' -ze-ah). Partial or complete lo of the power of expre ion or of comprehension of the conventional signs of language, from no lesion of the peripheral organs or nerves, but from lesions of the cortical centers concerned. Aphasia may be either motor or sensory. Motor or Ataxic Aphasia consists in a lo of speech owing to inability to execute the various movements of the mouth nece ary to speech, the muscles being not paralyzed but not coordinated, owing to disease of the cortical center. It is usually a ociated with agraphia, "aphasia of the hand," inability to write, and right-sided hemiplegia. Some aphasics can write, but are unable to articulate words or sentences; this variety is variously named aphemia, alalia, or anarthria, according as the impairment of speech is more or le marked. Charcot supposes the center for articulate language divided into four sub-centers, a visual center for words, an auditory center for words, a motor center of articulate language, and a motor center of written language. Lesions of one or more of these centers produce the characteristic forms of aphasia, all of which have clinical exemplifications. Sensory Aphasia, or Amnesia is the lo of memory for words, and may exist alone or in a ociation with the motor aphasia. Amnesia appears clinically in three distinct forms; I. Simple lo of memory of words. 2. Word-deafne , or inability to understand spoken words. 3. Word blindne , or inability to understand written or printed words. Paraphasia, a form of aphasia in which there is inability to connect ideas with the proper words to expre the ideas. Agrammatism, a phenomenon of aphasia consisting in the inability to form words grammatically, or the suppre ion of certain words of a phrase. A tax aphasia, inability to arrange words synthetically into sentences. Bradyphasia, abnormal slowne of speech, from pathological cause. Tumult us sermon is, a stuttering manner of reading, from pathological cause. A., Conduction, such as is due not to any central lesion, but to defect in some commi ural connection between centers. A., Gibberish, aphasia in which the patient can utter many words, but uses them in such a way that they expre no meaning Aphasiac (ah-fa' '-ze-ak). One who is aphasic.