Extrasylvian aphasias

Thumbnail Language disturbances observed in cases of damage outside of the “brain language area” are known as extrasylvian or transcortical aphasia. Preserved language repetition is its distinguishing characteristic. Two major subtypes of extrasylvian aphasia have been traditionally distinguished: extrasylvian motor aphasia and extrasylvian sensory aphasia, each one presenting rather different clinical manifestations. Additionally, striatocapsular and thalamic damage can result not only in speech but also in some language defects. More recently, it has been hypothesized that the cerebellum contributes to cognitive processing, particularly the processing of linguistic information because the cerebellum has reciprocal connections not only with the left inferior frontal gyrus, but also the left lateral temporal cortex.