Which aphasia type involves impairment in all language abilities due to large left-hemisphere damage?

• A. Wernicke's Aphasia
• B. Global Aphasia
• C. Broca's Aphasia
• D. Anomic Aphasia

Answer: (B)

Global aphasia occurs when a large left-hemisphere lesion disrupts multiple language networks, so expressive and receptive language are severely impaired across the board. The left hemisphere houses specialized language areas for production (Broca’s) and comprehension (Wernicke’s) and the connections between them; when a big area is damaged—often from a large MCA stroke—the result is widespread language breakdown. This leads to severely limited speech, poor understanding of spoken language, and difficulties with reading and writing. In contrast, Wernicke’s aphasia involves fluent but meaningless speech with poor comprehension, Broca’s aphasia features nonfluent, effortful speech with relatively intact comprehension, and Anomic aphasia is mainly a naming problem with preserved fluency and comprehension. Global aphasia is the pattern you see when all language abilities are affected due to extensive left-hemisphere damage.