Diagnosis and Treatment of Aphasia

Excerpt

IN 1971, Norman Geschwind¹ complained that the problem of aphasia was largely neglected by clinicians, despite its common occurrence. During the past 15 years, in great measure due to Geschwind's creative inspiration, clinicians and researchers have devoted considerable energy to understanding brain-language relationships and to developing new therapies for aphasic patients. With advances in imaging technologies and development of the fields of behavioral neurology, neuropsychology, psycholinguistics, and speech pathology, great progress has been made. Aphasia is no longer a neglected subject, and many aphasic patients now can be successfully treated. Contemporary research attempts to elucidate cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms underlying aphasic symptoms and to apply this knowledge to the development of therapy programs directed at specific clusters of aphasic symptoms. This article highlights clinically relevant aspects of this research.