Diagnosis and Treatment of Aphasia

IN PART I of this article, published in the previous issue, we reviewed the classification of aphasic syndromes, described key clinical features of each syndrome, and discussed neurodiagnostic techniques developed to improve clinical diagnosis and facilitate our understanding of brain-language relationships. We emphasized that although gross clinicoanatomic correlations can be useful, there is no one-to-one correspondence between specific parts of the brain and specific components of language. A comprehensive neurological theory of language must involve both hemispheres and subcortical structures as well. In part II we focus on diagnostic aphasia tests and developments in therapy for aphasia. APHASIA TESTS Much of what we know about clinical features of aphasia comes from informal, but thorough, bedside examinations of individual patients. This form of evaluation, although highly informative when conducted by an experienced aphasiologist, is by its nature nonstandardized. A few short clinical tests, such as Marie's 3-Paper Test,¹²⁶have long