Receptive aphasia

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**Receptive aphasia**
*Classification & external resources*

Figure one illustrates significant language areas of the brain. In Broca's aphasia, the area typically lost is highlighted in blue. In Wernicke's aphasia, the area lost is highlighted in green.
ICD-10	F 80.2
ICD-9	315.32

Receptive aphasia, also known as Wernicke’s aphasia, fluent aphasia, or sensory aphasia in clinical neuropsychology and cognitive neuropsychology, is a type of aphasia often (but not always) caused by neurological damage to Wernicke’s area in the brain (Brodman Area 39, in the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere). This is not to be confused with Wernicke’s encephalopathy or Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. If Wernicke’s area is damaged in the non-dominant hemisphere, the syndrome resulting will be sensory dysprosody - the lack of ability to perceive the pitch, rhythm, and emotional tone of speech.

Speech is preserved, but language content is incorrect. This may vary from the insertion of a few incorrect or nonexistent words to a profuse outpouring of jargon. Rate, intonation and stress are normal. Substitutions of one word for another (e.g., “telephone” for “television”) are common. Comprehension and repetition are poor.

Example:

I called my mother on the television and did not understand the door. It was too breakfast, but they came from far to near. My mother is not too old for me to be young.

If excessive, this may be confused with the psychiatric signs of “pressure of speech” and “word salad.”

Patients who recover from Wernicke’s aphasia report that, while aphasic, they found the speech of others to be unintelligible and, despite being cognizant of that fact that they were speaking, they could neither stop themselves nor understand their own words.

[edit] Receptive aphasia in popular culture

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

“Failure to Communicate,” an episode of Fox’s medical television series House, M. D., featured a patient experiencing both receptive aphasia and agraphia. (The episode first aired on January 10, 2006.)
In “Babel,” an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a virus causes this type of aphasia.