Wernicke's aphasia

A patient manifesting classic symptoms of Wernicke's aphasia...

[@charu9142]

Fast & easy way to remember the difference: Broca=Broken (articulate but broken/slow/deliberate/simple speech)-control of speech Wernicke=Wacky (words make no sense)-comprehension of speech Both areas are located in the cerebrum (L hemisphere): Broca's in frontal lobe, Wernicke's in temporal. Alphabetically, front to back. Just some old tips from class-hope they help?!

[@ScribStat]

+Char U They help very much, actually. Thank you!

[@Ano7herHero]

+Char U You are a good man

[@Ano7herHero]

+Ano7herHero Person*

[@canniloni]

+Char U I have to learn this for an exam and your post was actually really helpful. thank you!

[@JhullyAmillyMarangoni]

+Char U thank you

[@wolfgang169]

It's like trying to answer a question when you just woke up.

[@SandWolf_]

man, i do hate when people make fun of patients like they do here. They're already suffering much but are generous enough to let others study them. So be kind..

[@invis999]

Feel like nb was getting made fun of but go off

[@Iluvmushrooms19]

It's just to test if the patients motor functions are affected or not. Nobody is making fun of this cute lady.

[@shmike1984]

this is adorable and sad at the same time

[@luqi01]

Helps while studying for USMLE step 1 ! thanks for the video! wernicke's aphasia: patient cant understand, can speak fluently but words dont make sense broca's: patient can understand really well, but cant speak fluently, however whatever little they can express does make sense conduction aphasia: patient can understand and speak but can't repeat the sentence

[@Lane22325]

I'm also here studying for Step 1! Helps to put a face to a disorder.

[@xxMrBaldyxx]

She's doing better than other Wernicke's aphasia patients that I've seen. She seems to understand everything being said to her which is pretty amazing. I can only imagine the confusion and frustration that would result from this condition. I imagine they would find themselves thinking, "Why the hell can't people understand me?!" In that sense they are almost locked inside their own mind... with no way to express themselves. It's really sad. Maybe one day there will be a cure?

[@Polak-vz1ec]

She clearly doesn't undestand everything being said to her. I feel like she just tries to repeat the things said to her and only then seems to be able to grasp what had been said to her.

[@sodahernandez]

love it or hate it. she spitting straight facts right now

[@chrismay4963]

If anything, this seems to resemble what I would understand as transcortical sensory aphasia, rather than just wernicke's aphasia. She clearly does not understand many of the directions she is given, but in multiple instances she is able to repeat what the "tester" is saying; repetition is not something wernicke's aphasics can do, but in transcortical sensory aphasia (which has many of the same symptoms), repetition is intact. Clearly, there is a lot more going on than just a "classic aphasia", especially considering the way she acted when told to stick out her tongue. Interesting video, albeit slightly misleading.

[@johnmathai99]

+Chris May this sure seems like transcortical sensory aphasia as the repetition is intact..:)

[@mattball7074]

I thought the same as well, the deficits seem to be broader--good points

[@sazirahjaafar8905]

I agree !!

[@HashemSmashem]

Good point. Although her repetition wasn't exact and only repeated a word of the whole command given by the examiner. Would that still qualify as intact repetition?

[@salazam]

@Chris May Wrong.

[@VoidHalo]

She was repeating the questions so she had time to think about what they meant and how to respond. It's called echolalia.

[@pittypaws6633]

When the lady says baseball player the woman almost seems to say babe roos. Which sounds like Babe Ruth.

[@rachaelhayes1824]

I noticed that too. Very interesting.

[@susannasullivan3426]

this is so sad but kinda scary to hear/watch

[@triphasboost]

Imagine if witches were old women that had this disease

[@evanv449]

For all those with questions pertaining to the extent of speech comprehension loss and the ability to express language, remember that brain lesions are rarely focal (one place alone). Rather, they are widely spanning, depending on the size of the stroke or head injury and the duration that the tissue was ischemic, and can affect each person differently. For example, some Wernicke's patients are great at lip-reading, while others cannot lip-read at all. This is due to stroke affecting the IPL.

[@TheRosemontag]

Its like the patient has developed her own language that only she can understand.

[@girabbit]

Yes, it's all relative. Someone might have *some* comprehension and even be able to repeat short words, but that's still a Wernicke's. Only the most severe have no comprehension whatsoever, and often only immediately post-stroke. The comprehension is severely impaired in this case and so is the repetition, so it fits. Good luck on the exam!

[@RadagonTheRed]

I can’t even comprehend what it must be like for someone with Wernicke’s Aphasia. To remember that you once understood and spoke perfectly but to suddenly be aware that you now can’t do either without fully knowing why. It must be torment.

[@LuLuRevenge6]

If it's any consolation to you, they're usually not aware of their impairments, so they're not aware of how they used to speak in the past and aren't aware that they're not speaking anymore like that in the present.

[@S1M1528P]

She does show comprehension issues though, when asked to sip on a straw, to smile, to chew gum and cough. Wernicke's aphasia causes difficulty in comprehending speech but not total inability.

[@Dexterprog]

@DaculDatDracu: it's probably not a pure Wernicke aphasias. Actually, I've been taught that aphasias don't tend to show up exaclty like books describe them, that is to say, they may present mixed symptoms of different types of aphasias. This one looks a lot like a Wernicke's but shows some ability to comprehend and she can repeat phrases (so that kind of leaves conduction aphasia out of the case)

[@daugaard4000]

Hey Tommy. I have to say that you are right in your comment. However it's important to remember that this is just an oversimplification. Brocha's aphasia also cause trouble understanding - especially 'function words' (e.g. patient David Ford studied by Howard Gardner - 1974 pp. 60-61). While Wernicke's aphasia also affects expression - i.e. the speech is a mixture og clarity and gibberish (e.g. Philip Gorgan another patient by Gardner - 1974 pp. 67-68). I'm also 2nd year Med.

[@captainimij]

My uncle had Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.He only had about a 4-5 minute memory.He was smart and he knew things.However he had an appetite that was insatiable.He could eat a massive breakfast and be starving about an hour later.Sometimes he would spend the whole day asking the same question over and over.It was hard to see him like that.I was his caregiver for 18 months and it nearly drove me insane.My mother took over and cared for him for about 4 years untill he passed away from mouth cancer.

[@BeastV33]

that would be due to choric alcohol abuse. This form of aphasia is due to a stroke .

[@mariahzalera2123]

Fascinating

[@ingiburgerjohnsons4479]

Thank you Mr. Spock

[@08danjo]

When our psychology teacher shown this video to us, most of my classmates are laughing out loud. But me, I'm not.

[@SONJASAVEDBYGRACE]

Right. Smart man you are, and a compassionate one ☝🏽 at that, God bless you

[@jcs101194]

What a sweet lady. Still, every time I see her speak it intrigues me. =)

That condition is perfectly understood as well as a normal human brain using those functions correctly. A good neurologist can examine that patient and pinpoint which areas are affected, in which way and what are her main deficits. Now its true that we use a very small part of our brains, and we still dont know for sure how to use or why we have so much more. But im sure humans do understand their human brains, no irony in that.

[@gurpreetsahota600]

thank you for the upload!

[@TheCassandraSchoof]

"Usually the patient has some degree of dysfunction in the areas of both expression and reception . . . Few patients have just expressive or receptive aphasia. In most cases, though, one type is dominant." Med-Surg Nursing, Ignatavicius & Workman

[@loljustice31]

As a second year, you still know less clinical medicine than your parents. You will find that in clinical practice the manifestation of disease isn't as in your textbooks.

[@greensky01]

Here is an example how and why some healthy people may have an easier time understanding a foreign language wether written or spoken, yet have diffuculity speaking a foreign language. Understanding speach/language is done by the Wernicke region, while artigulating or speach control are controlled by the Broca area.

[@luischalas]

This is confusing me. Some of the comments say she clearly does not understand directions but they asked her to do things like kiss, stick your tongue out and chew gum she did it. I also dont understand what she says. In Wernickes aphasia you dont understand what they say to you but you can always speak fluently.

[@stacymonique]

my granny has aphasia now....she cant remember me or anybody...only her parents which are dead now....she doesnt want to talk to me....and im overseas on duty and this is not healthy for me at all cause i havent gotten sleep in a week since they told me...and now i have to take leave to see my granny before i deploy this year

[@murrth]

Broca's interferes with the motor aspects of speech production and results in the ability to understand speech but great difficulty generating it.

[@BREEZEI]

She understands some of what is said woulda been good to see the therapist to see if she gives gestures or shows her what a smile is etc.

[@EEGMan]

I'm surprised Mike Gazzaniga hasn't gotten after you for posting copyrighted material (but I am happy to see this video available to all)

[@burfordpop]

Also, the person giving her the instructions may be giving visual clues, such as smiling and indicating her mouth when she tells her to mile

[@Liuhuayue]

It seems like she does understand some things (sticking out her tongue, kissing, smiling, sipping, although the last one was not as accurate of a gesture and was more of onomatopoeia). That's not really what they say is characteristic of Wernicke's, although she definitely has affected speech in a word-salad sort of way, with neologisms and slurred words.

[@xAyako91x]

@ponczomonczo From what I've learned, they both have repetitive speech and paraphasia. The main difference is that conduction aphasics are usually aware that they have a problem with language but have a really hard time correcting it (basically can't) while Weiricke's aphasics usually are unaware of their disorder. They are very similar though.

[@TiffaniJane94]

@IDrinkYourMilkshake8 Your completely right, except its not that they cannot completely understand. They have difficulty understanding both written and verbal language. she may just be responding to one or two key words she hears :)

[@amarmirza08]

I am not aware there is a treatment, though I do remember hearing brain plasticity allows for compensatory pathways to spontaneously generate.

[@liszt85]

The point is, it isn't clear that this patient has Wernicke's aphasia. This video is not a good example of "classic symptoms" of Wernicke's as the description states.

[@sparkplugpeggy4910]

The flicking tongue movements and stuttering letter sounds..... I find those two things interesting.

[@aishwaryachawla7334]

repetition is present. it is impaired in wenicke's

[@bun_nay]

these are most likely patients who have provided consent for research, documentation, and study purposes. not so much as making fun of patients as long as you treat them with respect and no intention to make fun of them.

[@tangoseal1]

Taking intro to Psychology at Montana State University now and we are studying anatomy of the CNS and PNS and this has been lectured on. Came here to see a real example. There is certainly a disconnect in her Wernicke's Area of her brain. Glad videos like this exist so that we can study what to look for. Its a shame this happens to people but at least she is alive and well and probably enjoying her life (at the time of the video that is).

[@Alejandro-pm7mm]

That's amazing i've never seen a illness like that @_@

[@KeepDeltaMyDelta]

No, Wernicke's Aphasia causes semantic difficulties, and Broca's causes syntactical difficulties.

[@drugchicken]

@kaufmann85 Maybe there's an additional diagnosis of echolalia going on here? Seems unlikely, but I've seen some bizarre combinations manifest in my line of work.

[@flamingfigures]

BROUGHT HERE BECAUSE OF C... ognitive sciences class in university while searching for samples of a cognitive disorder which will be referenced on the midterm.

[@robertsivonjic5080]

The video looks edited with that gray stuff on which makes it creepier to watch in like 11pm ,_,

[@JakeHreish]

im watchin it at 3 am -_-

[@videotrash]

Jacoub Hreish you're hardcore

[@JakeHreish]

erraticbrain i know ^_^

[@BostonColorblind]

This was amazing

[@xyz7572]

This does not seem like Wernicke’s aphasia though. Its definitely aphasia, but not Wernicke’s.

[@MrScooter971]

she's actually speaking an advanced alien language that us mortals lack the mental capacity to process

[@xAyako91x]

@RapidEyesCream They're usually unaware that they have a speech disorder or don't make sense.

[@FedericoRux]

Wow, now it's clear. This undoubtedly is a charming matter! :D Thank you! ^_^

[@liszt85]

The reason I deleted my comment was because I said this looked more like Broca's than Wernicke's. I now don't think that is the case. I think it is very inconclusive. She understands a lot of what is being said (which is not typical of a classic case of Wernicke's). She repeats a lot of stuff (in Wernicke's, the typical symptom is fluent speech that makes no sense, not extreme repetition). So I don't think this video is a good example of the classic symptoms at all (the description says it is).

[@FedericoRux]

Comprehension and repetition are quite ok: @ 1:12 -> Examinator: "Can you smile?" - Patient: "Can you smile at me?" she *misunderstands* the command but she's able to repeat, then she also acts the smile. In transcortical aphasias repetition is OK. In Wernicke's Aphasia comprehension is damaged. I think this could be a particular case of Sensory Transcortical Aphasia, essentially because 1. Repetition is not so bad 2. Speech is fluent 3. Mistakes in speech. [I'm a Clinical Psychology Student]

[@xAyako91x]

@IDrinkYourMilkshake8 I agree with portsy. Also I think it has to do with the fact that Aphasia varies so much with different patients. Some are more severe than others and usually never fit a classic definition 100%.

[@thepts]

@ThePresident001 Broca patients will say the right words, but they won't have any sentence structure around the words, and generally slowly with bad rhythm. Wernicke's patients usually speak with normal structure, rhythm and tone, but use made-up or wrong words, like the lady in the clip.

[@tigrisx23]

in wernickes, they can sound more fluent than in broca's but they understand less. the association part pf the brain is heavily affected. thats why they also have problems identifying objects verbally although they know what it is

[@fratdawgg23]

Wonder if aphasia is a symptom of Alzheimer's/dementia. My grandmother had Alzheimer's/dementia and for a few months would respond similarly. After a few months, a couple small strokes left her unable to communicate or walk, then bedridden for about 5 yrs before dying. Horrible. I"d rather have a heart attack and be done with it, ughh.

[@joanahenriques8863]

No, Wernicke's aphasia results from a brain lesion in the temporal lobe (an area called Wernicke's area); however, if that part of her brain became deteriorated because of the Alzheimer's, it is a possible cause :/

[@colinray171]

also, if any of the "small strokes" affected Wernicke's area she could present similarly

[@rareenoughtofind2270]

If your grandmother had a few strokes, it is likely that one or more were in the Wernikie's area of the brain. it is also true that Alzheimer's affects the cerebral cortex (telencephalon), and this area degrades. so it is possible that this area suffered from Alzheimers. usually though, it usually affects memory (the Thalamus) more. What kind of Aphaisa it was depends on whether she was unable to speak to you, or had trouble understanding you. if she had trouble speaking at all, or only could say a few words, it might have been Broca's aphasia. problems understanding you would have been Wernickie's.

[@rareenoughtofind2270]

Joana Henriques He did mention her suffering a few small strokes, and that absolutely could have caused a lesion in the Wernikie's area. Coupled with Alzhemiers she may well have had lot's of problems.

[@KaylaTheKindOne]

Oh my gosh, that's awful. I give you my sympathy and understanding.

[@Kateaclysmic]

@DaculDatDracu Isn't Wernicke's aphasia generally due to brain damage? If so then I would guess it's likely that nearby areas of the brain would also have been affected by whatever caused the damage, and thus most people presenting with Wernicke's aphasia would also have other cognitive disabilities, which would explain why many would have a lower respose to simple orders. Perhaps this is a better example of the condition itself rather than general brain damage in which it is a result?

[@DaculDatDracu]

The question is: Why does she still kept comprehension signs? Is it a partial mild lesion or is it compensation cortical reparations process that allowed her to understand after a while?The anatomical support of these interesting cases like this one I would like to study

[@portsy101]

@IDrinkYourMilkshake8 Probably through other contextual cues, like facial expressions or vocal intonations. Speech can still convey a lot even if the words are nonsense to the listener.

[@liszt85]

Lack of comprehension = semantic difficulties more or less. Broca's aphasia doesn't cause syntactical difficulties. Patients with Broca's aphasia don't have problems UNDERSTANDING speech, so clearly they have no problems with comprehending syntax (which is part of speech). It is a PRODUCTION problem. In Broca's aphasia, I'm guessing that the connections between the PFC (specifically Broca's region) and the motor cortex (in particular the parts that control vocal mechanisms) are affected.

[@TheChouse27]

So what is the difference in treatment that a physician would have for these two types of lesions?

[@TheChouse27]

That was kinda my point. Someone was ragging on clinicians for not knowing the difference between Wernicke's aphasia and Mixed Transcortical Aphasia. The reason that they don't know is because the etiologies, and the treatments, are the same. Separating them is academic in nature.

[@freubelaar]

@celinelakra I've just begun studying this subject so I'm not sure, but could it be that she does understand single words but just doesn't understand sentences, the links between words when putting them in a certain order?

[@smokingweapon]

I didn't come here from Cracked, that disturbs me... which article in cracked covers Wernicke-Geschwind model of aphasia?! How the hell did I miss it?!

[@celinelakra]

this is a little bit unusual for a patient with true wernike's aphasia, as she seems to have some understanding of what the examiner is saying. Usually this is not the case. Classically understanding AND expression are impaired.

[@dlaESP]

Am I the only one slightly disturbed by this and a little bit amused at the same time? D:

[@sarahandjaz]

Is this not broca's aphasia?

[@Cybergriffey30]

No, this woman has normal motor function. it's the sensory component (Wernicke's area in the temporal lobe) that is causing her to have these symptoms.

[@29Jamorjelly]

They way I remember the difference between the two is that BROca's aphasia has BROken speech. Wernike's aphasia is Wordy speech.

[@rareenoughtofind2270]

Broca's Aphasia affects the ability to use the body to speak. the person with this condition (in most cases) is able to understand language, and usually wants to respond, but physically cannot. some are able to say a few select words, but no others. this is from a stroke in the left hemisphere, in the Broca's area. Wernickie's aphasia is when the person can speak, but no longer comprehends speech. they are able to say all they want to, but generally make no sense. it depends in the indevidial, but most cannot understand what is said to them either. the difference from Broca's is that they are able to speak but not understand. this is caused by a stroke in the Wernikie's area in the left hemisphere. Both are caused by strokes in the left hemisphere - which is the language hemisphere.

[@bturqueza2153]

Broca présents with a slow fluency, difficulté avec liaison des syllabes, prolongation des phonèmes et voyelles. This is not the case. This is a Wernicke

[@doomedfleur12974]

wernickes area is for speech comprehension, wernickes aphasia patients will have a hard time understandeing and an easy time speaking brocas area is for speech production, brocas aphasia patients will have a hard time producing speech but an easy time understanding

[@michaeltao7860]

Firecracker brought me here

[@gokulnaidu122]

Pete doherty stole all his lyrics from a wernicke's sufferer.

[@iDerek4Real]

If she had a throwed beat and a microphone she would be my hero!! She a beast with them lyrics!!!

[@gracii92]

What's the difference between this and Broca's aphasia?

[@malcolmdale]

Very interesting. Thanks .

[@tvm900]

In order to deal with the condition it is not uncommon for patients to preform in jazz bands as scat singers.

[@Houdini116]

Can someone explain this to me? So in her mind does she think that she is speaking in a language/answering normally? And she waits for the woman to ask her questions and then she answers, so she can still comprehend somethings? And since her ability to sort of make sense of words is impaired when she speaks, does that also mean that she cannot write coherently? And last thing, do patients ever recover from this? Thanks

[@samfreeman1506]

A couple of times the experimenter says 'look' e.g. with the smile, so I thought as I watched it the first time the patient was only successful when the experimenter showed her what to do.

[@invinciblegrammie1]

At Baseball player it almost sound like she is saying Base Roos. Maybe she was trying to say Babe Ruth.

[@girabbit]

"Lack of comprehension = semantic difficulties" - Wrong. They understand non-linguistic communication which relies on semantics. See pyramids & palm trees test. "Broca's aphasia doesn't cause syntactical difficulties" - Yes it does, severely so, with syntactic PRODUCTION. "I'm guessing that the connections..." - you're guessing wrong. Problems with 'vocal mechanisms' would be apraxia or dysarthria. Aphasia is language based, remember? I'm guessing you've never seen a real life aphasic patient.

[@girabbit]

She spends 2/3 of the video not doing what the interviewer is asking. She may pick up key words but clearly doesn't comprehend at sentence level.

[@rayjeep]

Mrs. Doubtfire?

[@griccioppo]

I see here signs of palilalia and echolalia. Besides, there is such a level of comprehension that I am not used to see in patients with Wernick's aphasia. I do would like to see her frontal lobes.

[@ZammyBomb]

Maybe this is the type of speech Closed Captions were invented.

[@kaufmann85]

@DaculDatDracu That's what I would have thought. If it was complete Wernicke's aphasia she wouldn't be able to understand the directions...even if they were written?! My guess is she understands the idea of a request to copy the speech, but doesn't actually understand the words being spoken...maybe?

[@bashiirz]

How does she understand the experimenter's instructions...anyone?

[@silimay]

it sounds as though she had trouble understanding the instructions in several parts of the video...like when she was asked to smile and didn't understand. Maybe she still retains a small amount of comprehension...

[@KylieHS]

Impaired comprehension is prominent in people with Wernicke's aphasia. Also semantic disturbance is evident with them as well. They are still able to comprehend some things, depends on the person.

[@stephensexauer3125]

A lot of her actions are probably due to mimicking the interviewer's, as she is unable to understand the concept of "don't repeat, just do what I'm saying," although we can't see her. Mimicking others actions does not involve language.

[@rareenoughtofind2270]

it is always going to change from person to person. how badly a stroke affects the area also changes. she has trouble, but can do a little more, which probably just means that she had a less severe stroke. she still has aphasia obviously, though.

[@FedericoRux]

Speech pathologist? Cool! :D Yep, I was wondering the same thing (I mean, the examinator that acts the smile). So do you say that this actually IS a Wernicke's Aphasia? I mean, even if there is a [poor but still present] comprehension? (I've got a Neuropsychology exam tomorrow xD)

[@Dexterprog]

@DaculDatDracu: That's why I am really interested in aphasias. It's really amusing how the present on the patients.

[@briza2022]

That was clear Wernicke Aphasia, the person speaks well but is not understanding and just repeating. There are other channels where patients do understand well but do not pronounce nor use the words correctly.

[@ThePresident001]

Is this not Broca's Aphasia? Broca's Aphasia is the loss of speech generation as opposed to Wernicke's Aphasia which is loss of speech comprehension. She seems to understand speech but not generate it. Am I wrong?

[@sapicklez]

I think she's just coming onto her.

[@mabroukahouderi5667]

I think this is conductive aphasia

[@xxNailFirexx]

"Scarab forearm bird bird bird!"

[@girabbit]

It is almost a perfect example, it's just not a profound Wernicke's. To not understand simple instructions is still severe - she's probably picking up key words.

[@sarahdowidar1722]

Hi, can i please include this video as part of my neuroscience university assignment?

[@Gedroid61]

Ve got aphasia.

[@Carmelpoptart]

This may sound mean, but i found this hilarious.

[@wv1nk-2005]

, she has no problem in hearing and understanding but she can’t formulate useful sentences her answers make no sense but she can talk(articulate) normally. •area responsible for hearing is intact (temporal auditory cortex) •area responsible for comprehension and production of thoughts is damaged(Wernicke’s area) •area responsible for sending signals to speech muscle is intact (Broca’s area)

[@DesireeAleece]

@IDrinkYourMilkshake8 Not all brain damage is the same. She CAN comprehend simple things, but other things are harder to comprehend.

[@g6pa]

Conduction aphasia?

[@roberto2380]

My girlfriend's father started talking like Yoda. It's a fluent Aphatia but I don't now what king