Aphasia is a complex acquired neurogenic disorder in which there are problems with speaking or speech is lost. It is due to an injury to certain areas of the brain. There are many forms and degrees of aphasia. For example, a patient with aphasia may be able to speak but not to form words that can be understood. The patient may be able to understand speech and writing and form thoughts, but not be able to speak. Aphasia may be the result of a severe head injury, lack of oxygen, or stroke. It is sometimes short term, as when a swelling in the brain goes down and language returns. Constant hard work and practice by the patient and the patient's family have helped to restore normal speaking ability.
There are a variety of differing types of aphasia classified by the patient's deficit in language ability. Broca's aphasia is characterized by an almost telegraphic speech pattern in which the words that are uttered are short and often agrammatic, while comprehension remains comparatively intact. Wernicke's aphasia is characterized by fluent speech, but poor comprehension. Global aphasia is characterized by comprehension deficits and non-fluent speech. Transcortical Motor Aphasia is similar to Broca's aphasia except the ability to repeat is intact. Transcortical Sensory Aphasia is similar to Wernicke's aphasia but the ability to repeat spoken language is spared. Conduction aphasia is also known as disconnection syndrome because it is a lesion that disconnects Broca's area from Wernicke's area via the arcuate fasciculus and is characterized by a comparatively reduced ability to repeat spoken language. Anomic aphasia is characterized by an inability to come up with the names of common objects.