Practice Quiz Human Communication

Pure alexia, also known as word blindness, is a rare neurological disorder where an individual loses the ability to read, despite having intact vision and language skills. However, they can still write without difficulty. This is because pure alexia specifically affects the visual processing of written words, making it difficult for the person to recognize and comprehend them. Therefore, the statement that a person with pure alexia can write but not read is true.

Wernicke's aphasia is characterized by effortless production of meaningless speech. This means that individuals with this condition are able to speak fluently, but the words they use may not make sense or be coherent. This is due to damage in the Wernicke's area of the brain, which is responsible for language comprehension. As a result, individuals with Wernicke's aphasia may have difficulty understanding others and may produce speech that is jumbled or nonsensical.

Broca's aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage to the frontal lobe of the brain. It affects a person's ability to produce speech, causing difficulty in forming and articulating words and sentences. Individuals with Broca's aphasia may have trouble finding the right words to express themselves and may speak with a limited vocabulary and slow, halting speech. This difficulty in producing speech is a characteristic symptom of Broca's aphasia.

The given statement is false. Speech is typically lateralized in the left hemisphere of the brain, regardless of whether a person is left-handed or right-handed. This means that the majority of left-handed people, just like right-handed people, have their speech functions primarily located in the left hemisphere of their brain.

People with Broca's aphasia would have most difficulty saying function words. Broca's aphasia is a type of language disorder that affects the ability to produce speech fluently. It is typically caused by damage to the frontal lobe of the brain. Function words are small words such as articles, prepositions, and conjunctions that are essential for constructing grammatically correct sentences but do not carry much meaning on their own. People with Broca's aphasia often struggle with producing these function words, resulting in telegraphic speech patterns with mainly content words.

Wernicke's aphasia is a language disorder that affects a person's ability to comprehend and produce meaningful speech. It is caused by damage to the superior temporal gyrus of the left hemisphere of the brain. This area is responsible for processing and understanding language. When this region is damaged, individuals may have difficulty understanding spoken or written language and may also have trouble finding the right words to express their thoughts. This explains why the correct answer is the superior temporal gyrus of the left hemisphere.

The given statement is false. Prosody, which refers to the rhythm, intonation, and stress patterns in speech, is not solely a left hemisphere function. It involves the coordination of various brain regions, including both the left and right hemispheres. Research has shown that both hemispheres contribute to prosodic processing, with the left hemisphere being more involved in the processing of linguistic aspects, while the right hemisphere plays a role in the emotional and melodic aspects of prosody. Therefore, the statement that prosody in speech appears to be primarily a left hemisphere function is incorrect.

Aphasia refers to a language disorder caused by brain damage, typically resulting in difficulties with speech production or language comprehension. In the given options, all except the last one can be considered examples of aphasia. Impaired language comprehension after years of excessive alcohol consumption can be considered a form of aphasia as it suggests long-term damage to the brain due to alcohol. However, impaired language comprehension in a college sophomore after a single night of drinking during spring weekend is not likely to be attributed to aphasia, as it is a temporary impairment caused by acute alcohol intoxication rather than brain damage.

The correct answer is the inferior left frontal lobe. Broca's aphasia is a language disorder that affects the ability to produce speech. It is typically caused by damage to the inferior left frontal lobe, specifically Broca's area, which is located in the posterior part of the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere of the brain. This region is responsible for the coordination of the muscles involved in speech production. Damage to this area can result in difficulty speaking fluently and forming grammatically correct sentences.

The left hemisphere is responsible for language production and analysis, which includes speech production and analysis. This means that it is better at understanding and producing speech compared to the right hemisphere. Therefore, the statement "production and analysis of speech" is correct.

Anomia is a common feature of all forms of aphasia. Anomia refers to the difficulty in finding or recalling words, which is a characteristic symptom of aphasia. Agrammatism refers to the difficulty in using proper grammar and sentence structure, and articulation difficulties refer to problems with pronouncing words. Dysgraphia is a specific difficulty with writing. Therefore, the correct answer is anomia, as it is the only option that is a common feature of all forms of aphasia.