Receptive Aphasia

Definition

Receptive aphasia is a type of language disorder where an individual has trouble understanding spoken or written language, usually due to damage in the brain area responsible for language comprehension.

Analogy

Think about listening to a foreign language song. You hear all the sounds and rhythms, but you can't understand what they mean - that's similar to how someone with receptive aphasia experiences communication.

Related terms

Wernicke’s Area: This is an area located in the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere (which is the left hemisphere in about 95% of right-handed individuals and 70% of left-handed individuals). It is responsible for comprehension of speech.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): A condition that affects one's ability to understand spoken words, despite having normal hearing abilities.

Semantic Paraphasia: This refers to using incorrect words that are related in meaning to intended words – common symptom seen in people with receptive aphasia.