conduction aphasia: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Very LowMedical / Academic / Clinical
Quick answer
What does “conduction aphasia” mean?
A neurological language disorder characterized by fluent speech but severely impaired repetition.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A neurological language disorder characterized by fluent speech but severely impaired repetition.
A rare type of aphasia (language impairment due to brain damage, often stroke) where spontaneous speech is relatively fluent and comprehension is relatively preserved, but the ability to repeat words or sentences is disproportionately poor. It is often attributed to a disconnection between brain areas responsible for speech comprehension and production.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in term usage, spelling, or definition between British and American English in medical contexts.
Connotations
Purely clinical, technical term with identical connotations in both dialects.
Frequency
Equally rare in both dialects, confined to specialized fields.
Grammar
How to Use “conduction aphasia” in a Sentence
The patient developed conduction aphasia.Conduction aphasia results from a lesion in the arcuate fasciculus.The neurologist assessed the conduction aphasia.Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “conduction aphasia” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The assessment aims to diagnose if the patient is suffering from conduction aphasia.
- The lesion appears to have caused the brain to dysfunction, presenting as conduction aphasia.
American English
- The therapist is treating a patient who manifests conduction aphasia.
- The stroke resulted in the patient developing conduction aphasia.
adjective
British English
- The conduction-aphasia patient struggled intensely with the repetition task.
- She presented with a classic conduction aphasia profile.
American English
- The conduction-aphasia symptoms were unmistakable.
- His case was a textbook example of conduction aphasia syndrome.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not used.
Academic
Used in neurology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and speech-language pathology research papers and textbooks.
Everyday
Virtually never used in everyday conversation.
Technical
Core term in clinical neurology and speech-language therapy assessments and diagnoses.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “conduction aphasia”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “conduction aphasia”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “conduction aphasia”
- Mispronouncing 'aphasia' as /æˈfeɪziə/ or /eɪˈfeɪʒə/.
- Confusing it with other aphasia types by describing it as having 'non-fluent speech' (incorrect) or 'poor comprehension' (incorrect).
- Using it as a general term for any speech problem.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The hallmark symptom is a severe impairment in repeating words or sentences, while spontaneous speech remains fluent and language comprehension is relatively intact.
It is typically caused by damage to the arcuate fasciculus, a white matter tract that connects Wernicke's area (comprehension) and Broca's area (speech production) in the brain's left hemisphere, often due to stroke.
In Wernicke's aphasia, comprehension is severely impaired and speech is fluent but nonsensical. In conduction aphasia, comprehension is much better, and speech is fluent but filled with phonemic paraphasias (sound errors), especially during repetition attempts.
Recovery depends on the extent and location of the brain damage. Speech-language therapy can help improve repetition and communication skills, but some level of deficit may persist.
A neurological language disorder characterized by fluent speech but severely impaired repetition.
Conduction aphasia is usually medical / academic / clinical in register.
Conduction aphasia: in British English it is pronounced /kənˈdʌkʃən əˈfeɪziə/, and in American English it is pronounced /kənˈdʌkʃən əˈfeɪʒə/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'conduction' like electrical conduction. In this aphasia, the 'wire' (the arcuate fasciculus) that conducts language information between comprehension and speech areas is damaged, so repeating words (which requires both areas) fails.
Conceptual Metaphor
LANGUAGE IS A TELEPHONE LINE. Conduction aphasia is a 'faulty line' where you can hear the caller (comprehend) and can speak into your handset (produce speech), but you cannot relay their exact message back to them (impaired repetition).
Practice
Quiz
Which brain pathway is most associated with conduction aphasia?