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Wernicke's aphasia

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The aphasia syndrome, as described by Wernicke in 1908, consists of loss of comprehension of spoken language, loss of ability to read (silently) and write, and distortion of articulate speech. Hearing is intact. The affected persons may speak fluently with a natural language rhythm, but the result has neither understandable meaning nor syntax. Despite the loss of comprehension, the word memory is preserved and words are often chosen correctly. Alexia, agraphia, acalculia, and paraphasia are frequently associated. Some patients are euphoric and/or paranoid. The disorder is due to cortical lesions in the posterior portion of the left first temporal convolution.

See also Pick's disease, or lobar sclerosis syndrome, under Arnold Pick, czechoslovakian neurologist and psychiatrist, 1851-1924.

Bibliography

  • H. C. Bastian:
    On the various forms of loss of speech in cerebral disease.
    British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review, London, 1869, 43: 209-236.
  • K. Wernicke:
    Der aphasische Symptomencomplex. Eine psychologische Studie auf anatomischer Basis.
    Breslau, M. Crohn und Weigert, 1874.
  • A. Y. Kozhevnikov:
    Osobii vid corticalnoi epilepsii. Medizinskoje Obozrenije, 1894, 42(14): 97.

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