Week 3 Flashcards
Definition of aphasia
Acquired communication disorder caused by brain damage.
What does aphasia impair?
4 modalities:
Speaking
Writing
Reading
Listening
Language region =
perisylvian region
Aphasia is …
Neurogenic
Acquired
Can happen across lifespan
Can also have problems such as dysarthria, apraxia, or dysphagia.
Etiology of aphasia
Stroke (most common)
Head injury
Neoplastic growth/cerebral tumor
infection/inflammation
Neuroplasticity definition
Brains ability to modify, change and adapt both structure and function throughout life in response to an experience.
What does the nervous system respond to?
Intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions and connection.
___ drives ___
Neuro plasticity drives behavioral change and behavioral change drives neuroplasticity.
Different types of Neuroplasticity:
Developmental
Injury induced
Treatment induced
Diaschisis
Sudden loss of function in a portion of the brain connected to, but remote distance away from, a damaged area.
Injury-induced neuroplasticity
Brain compensates for damage by reorganizing and forming new connections between intact neurons.
Requires repeated stimulation and opportunities for learning.
Chronic aphasia
Language recovery continues after initial 6-9 months post onset, it is just slower.
Rerouting
Re-establish an existing nervous connection via and alternative neural pathway.
The secondary pathway becomes the new primary pathway.
Resprouting
Growth of a new axon or dendrite fibers to enable new neural connections to be formed.
Pros of neuroplasticity rehab
Recruitment of different or remote neural circuits allows a given behavior to occur in a different way.
Cons of neuroplasticity rehab
The reorganization may inhibit the potential for restoration of the damaged neural circuit.
What is Recovery?
Resume normal activities even though there may be neurological and psychosocial deficits.
Lost function is restored.
Compensation:
use of a new strategy to perform the same task
Spontaneous recovery
Occurs withing the first 6-8 weeks after the stroke depending on etiology, size and location.
Progress is more rapid in the first 3 months
Role of the right hemisphere during recovery
Can take over SOME linguistic functions after LH stroke. It involves learning, not just a reaction but does not guarantee significant improvement.
Aphasia Recovery can improve with…
appropriate and REPEATED stimulus.
Can aphasia cause deterioration?
No, that is due to a new medical issue.
Verbal (auditory) Comprehension Deficits
Comprised ability to comprehend verbal language.
Auditory comprehension involves self monitoring and correction, so if its poor, you cannot self monitor
Mild VCD
Have no or mild difficulty interacting socially.
Understand or correctly guess the meaning of linguistic messages.
Difficulty with lengthy or detail-heavy utterance.
