Which brain region is typically involved in transcortical sensory aphasia?

• A. Temporoparietal junction
• B. Broca's area
• C. Right hemisphere
• D. Brainstem

Answer: (A)

Transcortical sensory aphasia arises when the area surrounding Wernicke’s is disconnected from the broader language network, typically due to a lesion at the temporoparietal junction. This disconnection disrupts auditory comprehension while leaving the repetition pathway (the arcuate fasciculus) intact, so speech is fluent but meaning is poorly understood, and repetition is preserved.

Other regions described don’t fit this pattern: damage to Broca’s area causes nonfluent speech with poor repetition; right hemisphere lesions usually affect prosody or attention rather than producing this aphasia; brainstem lesions don’t produce this language profile.