Language Centres and Aphasia

Question 1

what is language

Answer 1

reading, writing, speaking and understanding words

Question 2

what does Wernicke’s area do

Answer 2

permits recognition of spoken and written language and creates plan of speech

Question 3

angular gyrus function

Answer 3

processes text and numbers into a form we can speak

Question 4

where is wernicke’s area found

Answer 4

around the auditory cortex of the sylvian fissure

Question 5

what is the sylvian fissure

Answer 5

where the temporal and parietal lobes meet

Question 6

what does Broca’s area do

Answer 6

generates motor program for larynx, tongue, cheek and lip muscles to create movement for phonation
transmits that to primary motor cortex for aciton

Question 7

where is Broca’s area found

Answer 7

pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus

Question 8

is speech part of the extrapyramidal or pyramidal system and why

Answer 8

pyramidal because speech is a voluntary action

Question 9

which seven cranial nerves are needed for speech

Answer 9

• V: trigeminal
• VII: facial
• VIII: vestibulocochlear
• IX: glossopharyngeal
• X: vagus
• XI: spinal accessory
• CII: hypoglossal

Question 10

trigeminal - sensory or motor

Answer 10

sensory and motor

Question 11

trigmeninal nerve relation to speech

Answer 11

controls muscles of mastication

Question 12

facial - sensory or motor

Answer 12

sensory and motor

Question 13

facial nerve relation to speech

Answer 13

controls muscles of facial expression

Question 14

vestibulocochlear - sensory or motor

Answer 14

sensory

Question 15

vestibulocochlear relation to speech

Answer 15

hearing

Question 16

glossopharyngeal - sensory or motor

Answer 16

sensory and motor

Question 17

glossopharyngeal relation to speech

Answer 17

• contributes to pharyngeal movement
• taste

Question 18

vagus - sensory or motor

Answer 18

sensory and motor

Question 19

vagus nerve relation to speech

Answer 19

• contributes to movements of the pharynx and larynx
• serves a sensory function for pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and lungs

Question 20

spinal accessory - sensory or motor

Answer 20

motor

Question 21

spinal accessory relation to speech

Answer 21

controls neck muscles thus indirectly influences position of larynx

Question 22

hypoglossal - sensory or motor

Answer 22

motor

Question 23

hypoglossal relation to speech

Answer 23

controls tongue movements

Question 24

two cochlear nuclei

Answer 24

dorsal and ventral

Question 25

what does the ventral pathway control

Answer 25

direction of sound

Question 26

ventral pathway

Answer 26

Cochlear nerve → ventral nucleus → superior olivary nucleus → nucleus of lateral lemniscus → inferior colliculus → medial geniculate nucleus of thalamus → primary auditory cortex

Question 27

what does the dorsal pathway control | auditory pathway

Answer 27

quality of sound

Question 28

dorsal pathway | auditory pathway

Answer 28

Cochlear nerve → dorsal cochlear nucleus → dorsal acoustic stria → inferior colliculus → medial geniculate nucleus of thalamus → primary auditory cortex

Question 29

do both dorsal and ventral pathways decussate | auditory pathway

Answer 29

yes

Question 30

what does the reading out loud pathway do

Answer 30

converts graphemes to phonemes

Question 31

grapheme

Answer 31

written symbol that represents a sound

Question 32

phoneme

Answer 32

smallest unit of sound within a word

Question 33

production effect

Answer 33

reading out loud can improve memory - pronouncing words can create a memorable experience

Question 34

reading out loud pathway

Answer 34

- Visual images → retinogeniculate pathway → lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus → geniculo-calcarine tract (optic radiation) → visual cortex (calcarine sulcus) for visual processing - Orthographic processing occurs in area 19 of the visual association area, and involves recognising whether each letter string in a sentence represents a real or pseudoword - Transfer from subdominant to dominant hemispheres via the splenium of the corpus callosum - The visual picture: the occipital lobe → angular gyrus for phonological processing → Wernicke’s area for language comprehension → arcuate fasciculus → Broca’s area for speech pattern production → primary motor cortex for muscle activation

Question 35

Aphasia

Answer 35

an acquired communication disorder that causes problems with any or all of the following: speaking, listening, reading and writing

Question 36

causes of aphasia

Answer 36

- stroke (most common, ischemia of brain region due to occlusion of middle cerebral artery) - head injury - brain tumours - infection - dementia

Question 37

wernicke's aphasia

Answer 37

issues with speech comprehension

Question 38

broca's aphasia

Answer 38

issues with speech production

Question 39

wernicke's aphasia presentation

Answer 39

- comprehension and expression are equally impaired - unable to understand written or spoken language - normal grammar, syntax, rate and intonation but cannot express themselves meaningfully - tendency to talk excessively - tend to have anosognsia (lack of awareness) of their symptoms - substitutes one word for another - paraphasias

Question 40

broca's aphasia presentation

Answer 40

- loss of ability to produce language - speech is laboured and non fluent

Question 41

conduction/association aphasia

Answer 41

connection between wernicke's and brocca's areas is damaged or compromised - therefore an acquired condition

Question 42

conduction/association aphasia presentation

Answer 42

- intact auditory comprehension - fluent speech - marked inability to repeat words or sentences

Question 43

dysarthria

Answer 43

- motor speech disorder caused by damage in the tracts that connect motor neurons to speech muscles - damage to upper and lower motor neurons - classified depending on location of lesion

Question 44

where do upper motor neurons have their nuclei

Answer 44

in the motor cortex

Question 45

where do lower motor neurons have their nuclei

Answer 45

pons and medulla

Question 46

agnosia

Answer 46

- inability to recognise objects, people, shapes, sounds or smells - no significant overall memory loss

Question 47

auditory agnosia

Answer 47

inability to differentiate or recognise sounds

Question 48

auditory agnosia cause

Answer 48

damage in the auditory association areas

Question 49

auditory agnosia presentation

Answer 49

- speech comprehension is severely compromised - language skills (reading, writing) are retained