ABSTRACT

Aphasia is a common, disabling cognitive deficit. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the aphasic syndromes, using both a historic and cognitive, information-processing-diagrammatic, modeling approach. Much of this chapter is an updated version of a previously published paper (Heilman, 2006). It is hoped that this approach may have heuristic value and will allow people to understand as well as investigate the neuropsychological mechanisms that lead to aphasic disorders as well as the rationale for testing, therapy, and management. It is also hoped that this information-processing approach will help us gain understanding of the means by which the normal human brain processes speech and language.