17. LANGUAGE

Question 1

Define language

Answer 1

• Language is a system for representing, communicating information about the world using symbols & rules

Question 2

What are the 5 functional components of language?

Answer 2

1. ARTICULATION
2. PHONOLOGY
3. MEANING/SEMANTICS
4. SYNTAX
5. COMPREHENSION

Question 3

What is articulation?

Answer 3

• ARTICULATION is the movement of the tongue, lips, jaw, pharynx & epiglottis to modify a sound wave

Question 4

What two ways can articulation be classified?

Answer 4

1. Place of articulation
   - Labial - sound from the lips
   - Alveolar - sound when tongue presses
2. Manner of articulation
   - Voiced vs unvoiced
   - Fricative, plosive

Question 5

What is phonology?

Answer 5

• Phonology is the sound combination from which the syllables & words of a language are built up

Question 6

What areas of the brain are involved in meaning?

Answer 6

• Left & right temporal lobes

- There are interconnections throughout the association cortex

Question 7

Which areas of the brain are involved in syntax?

Answer 7

• Left inferior frontal gyrus

- Posterior Broca’s area

Question 8

Which areas of the brain are involved in articulation & phonology?

Answer 8

• Motor complex areas which control movements of the tongue, mouth, larynx
• Broca’s area is also involved

Question 9

Which areas of the brain are involved in comprehension?

Answer 9

• Comprehension involves all the areas of the brain
• Primary auditory cortex to understand speech
• Temporal lobes, left inferior gyrus, arcuate fasiculus

Question 10

What 4 types of aphasia can occur due to stroke/focal damage?

Answer 10

1. Broca’s aphasia
2. Wernicke’s aphasia
3. Conduction aphasia
4. Dynamic aphasia

Question 11

What is Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 11

• Broca’s aphasia is caused by damage to Broca’s area

- Characterised by difficulty with articulation & phonology

Question 12

What happens to speech & comprehension in Broca’s area?

Answer 12

• BROken speech - BROca’s area
• Speech is slow, halted & fragmented
• Comprehension may be lower but tends to be unaffected because there’s no damage to the temporal poles

Question 13

Give two pathologies that result in Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 13

1. Middle cerebral artery infarction

2. Haemorrhage stroke

Question 14

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 14

• Wernicke’s aphasia is characterised by damage to the posterior regions of the language network in the left cerebral hemisphere

Question 15

How does Wernicke’s aphasia affect speech & comprehension?

Answer 15

• Wernicke’s aphasia produces speech that is fluent but meaningless.
• There’s a loss of meaning because individuals struggle to remember the meaning for words
• Addition of meaningless or invented words

Question 16

Give two pathologies that result in Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 16

1. Cerebral haemorrhage

2. Pentrating brain injury

Question 17

What is conduction aphasia?

Answer 17

• Conduction aphasia is caused by damage to the posterior perisylvian regions of gray matter & underlying white matter
• Individuals may have difficulty repeating words or phrases that have been said
• Speech is mildly fluent but there are comprehension issues

Question 18

What area of the brain is damaged in conduction aphasia?

Answer 18

• Posterior perisylvian regions of gray matter & underlying white matter

Question 19

How can dynamic aphasia be tested for?

Answer 19

• High constraint vs Low constraint test
• High constraint sentences are easy to complete
• Low constraint sentences are hard to complete

Question 20

What pathology can cause conduction aphasia?

Answer 20

• Lacunar stroke

- Affects the middle cerebral artery

Question 21

What is dynamic aphasia?

Answer 21

• Dynamic aphasia is the rarest form of aphasia

- It involves difficulty with planning, initiating or maintaining speech

Question 22

What happens to speech & comprehension in dynamic aphasia?

Answer 22

• In dynamic aphasia, the speech is echoic, repetitive or fragmented

Question 23

Which area of the brain is damaged in Dynamic aphasia?

Answer 23

• Anterior left inferior frontal gyrus (Brodmann 45)

Question 24

What pathology can cause dynamic aphasia?

Answer 24

• Left anterior cerebral infarction

Question 25

What is Wernicke's aphasia also known as?

Answer 25

- Sensory or receptive aphasia

Question 26

What three types of aphasia can occur as a result of brain neurodegeneration?

Answer 26

1. NON-FLUENT PROGRESSIVE APHASIA 2. FLUENT PROGRESSIVE APHASIA 3. LOGOPENIC APHASIA

Question 27

What is non-fluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 27

- Non-fluent progressive aphasia is characterized by slow, distorted grammatical speech

Question 28

What happens to speech & comprehension in non-fluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 28

- Speech: phonological & grammatical errors in speech which begins with subtle changes getting progressively worse over time - Comprehension: single word comprehension or preserved. But individuals may have difficulty understanding sentences

Question 29

What pathology can cause non-fluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 29

- Primary tauopathy [FTD-Tau] | - Deposition of Tau in language areas

Question 30

What is fluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 30

- Fluent progressive aphasia is characterised by normal sounding speech rate & production but with empty content - Begins with subtle word finding changes as individuals have single word comprehension difficulties

Question 31

What pathology can cause fluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 31

- TDP-43 Proteinopathy (|FTD-TDP) | - Abnormal TDP deposition in anterior temporal region

Question 32

What is logopenic aphasia?

Answer 32

- Logopenic aphasia is characterised by poor speech output with errors in phonology & syntax - Difficulty repeating sentences

Question 33

What pathology can cause logopenic aphasia?

Answer 33

- Damage to posterior perislyvian regions due to Alzheimer's