Which apraxia involves inability to pantomime actions, commonly associated with nonfluent aphasia?

• A. Ideomotor apraxia
• B. Ideational apraxia
• C. Limb apraxia
• D. Apraxia

Answer: (A)

The key idea is how different apraxias disrupt action planning and production. Ideomotor apraxia is the difficulty in translating a spoken or imagined action into the correct motor gesture, so pantomiming or mimicking actions on request is impaired even though the person understands what to do and can sometimes perform actions automatically. This explains why pantomiming actions is specifically affected, and why it often co-occurs with nonfluent aphasia—the same left frontal circuits that support speech production also support the planning and programming of purposeful movements.

Ideational apraxia, in contrast, is about a breakdown in the conception of the action or the sequence of steps, so the person may misuse objects or perform the wrong sequence. Limb apraxia is a broader term for motor planning difficulties of the limbs, and apraxia by itself is too general to identify the specific deficit here.