One's own language is of inestimable value, or as Ludwig Wittgenstein put it: "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." It is therefore a difficult fate when one loses the ability to communicate directly with one's fellow human beings - "Aphasia “ is the medical meaning of a speech disorder and means something like “without speech”.

While thinking may be completely undisturbed, sufferers find it difficult to express themselves.

Actor Bruce Willis is also said to be affected, which is why he has to end his career.

The German Society for Neurology estimates that around 70,000 people in Germany are affected by aphasia.

Johanna Kuroczik

Editor in the "Science" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

  • Follow I follow

Behind this clinical picture is usually damage to the areas of the brain responsible for language, in about 80 percent of cases as a result of a stroke.

About 30 percent of people who suffer a stroke are aphasic immediately after the event, but speech function returns in about half of those affected after a few weeks to months.

Because the brain is a plastic organ, it can change even in old age.

Other reasons for permanent aphasia include severe craniocerebral trauma, which occurs in one in ten patients with aphasia, and, less commonly, inflammation.

A brain tumor, progressive dementia or rare epileptic lids such as Landau-Kleffner syndrome can also be the cause.

The clinical picture is characterized by which areas of the speech network in the brain are disturbed.

This is roughly behind the temple, usually on the left side for right-handers, and on the right or left for left-handers.

The language centers include parts of the so-called temporal lobe, here lies Wernicke's area, in which hearing is processed, and a nearby part of the cerebrum just in front of the motor cortex, Broca's area, which is more responsible for the production of language.

When the words won't come

In principle, different aspects of communication can be impaired in aphasia, speaking and understanding language, but reading, writing or gestures can also suffer.

Those affected have difficulty finding words, speak haltingly or in a jumble.

The most extreme form is global aphasia, those affected can hardly speak and only understand simple requests.

In the so-called Broca's aphasia, on the other hand, the production of language is disturbed.

The sick still understand what their fellow human beings are saying, but they find it very difficult and sometimes impossible to speak themselves, the words are choppy and their sentences sound like a telegram.

It is different with the so-called Wernicke aphasia, in which the areas in the brain that are responsible for understanding language are impaired.

What others say, the patients understand the content less.

In extreme cases, the patients only hear the sound of the words without being able to classify their meaning.

You yourself sometimes talk a lot and incoherently.

The consequences of aphasia are severe for those affected and their relatives and friends - the sufferers sometimes withdraw and become depressed.

In everyday life, those affected help themselves, if possible, with aids, for example by writing down their thoughts.

However, aphasia often goes hand in hand with other cognitive disorders, such as paralysis, difficulty concentrating or impaired behavior.

The diagnosis is made using neuropsychological tests, and the cause is sought in brain scans such as MRI or CCT.

Drugs are used initially after a stroke, but chronic aphasia cannot be cured with drugs.

Targeted training with a speech therapist, i.e. speech therapy, can help many of those affected.