Which aphasia is non-fluent with impaired comprehension and reading, but repetition is relatively preserved, sparing Broca's and Wernicke's areas?

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Multiple Choice

Which aphasia is non-fluent with impaired comprehension and reading, but repetition is relatively preserved, sparing Broca's and Wernicke's areas?

This pattern fits mixed transcortical aphasia (isolation aphasia). When the language cortex is disconnected from the surrounding association areas—often via watershed-type damage—the person ends up with nonfluent speech and impaired comprehension and reading. Yet repetition remains relatively preserved because the core repetition pathway (the link between input and output language systems) stays intact, and the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas themselves are spared. This contrasts with Broca’s or global aphasia (where repetition is impaired and comprehension or production is more severely affected) and transcortical motor or sensory varieties (where repetition is typically preserved but other language functions align differently).

This pattern fits mixed transcortical aphasia (isolation aphasia). When the language cortex is disconnected from the surrounding association areas—often via watershed-type damage—the person ends up with nonfluent speech and impaired comprehension and reading. Yet repetition remains relatively preserved because the core repetition pathway (the link between input and output language systems) stays intact, and the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas themselves are spared. This contrasts with Broca’s or global aphasia (where repetition is impaired and comprehension or production is more severely affected) and transcortical motor or sensory varieties (where repetition is typically preserved but other language functions align differently).

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