Comprehension of Active and Passive Sentences in Aphasia

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the comprehension of active and passive sentences in aphasia. The sentence comprehension disorders comprise a general aphasic symptom, with differences of degree for the different types of aphasia. This conclusion contradicts the beliefs of clinicians who establish the type of aphasia on the basis of the symptoms that are most evident in current contact with the patient, and for this reason speech comprehension disorders are attributed only to sensory aphasics. Their claim is that motor aphasics have intact comprehension and have difficulty mainly with verbal expression. The expressive speech of these patients which is usually in telegraphic style and their comprehension difficulties which are independent of grammatical structure suggest a problem in operating with the rules of surface syntax. Semantic aphasics as a group made most errors with order reversed sentences and sentences in which the order of mention of the objects corresponded with the order required for the interpretation of the sentence. The acoustic–mnestic aphasics have significantly less difficulties with sentences whose deep and surface structures accord. Luria aphasics display a tendency similar to that of the acoustic–mnestic aphasics, but make much fewer errors.