Progressive Care Nursing Certification (PCCN) Practice Exam

In which type of aphasia does a patient have difficulty understanding and producing language but can understand gestures?

1. Global

2. Transient

3. Broca's

4. Wernicke's

The correct answer is: Global

The correct response relates to the characteristics of global aphasia. In this condition, individuals experience significant impairments in both understanding language and producing it. However, they often retain the ability to understand nonverbal cues, such as gestures. This ability to comprehend gestures can provide some means of communication, although the overall language capabilities are severely limited. In contrast, Broca's aphasia, which is another type of expressive aphasia, primarily affects speech production. Patients with Broca's aphasia typically understand language well but struggle to form complete sentences. They may speak in short phrases and have a laborious speech pattern but are generally able to grasp the meanings of conversations and often understand gestures. Wernicke's aphasia, on the other hand, involves fluent but nonsensical speech and poor comprehension of spoken language. Individuals may produce speech that sounds normal in rhythm and syntax but lacks meaningful content. Their difficulty extends to understanding gestures as well, making this type of aphasia quite distinct from global aphasia. Transient aphasia refers to temporary disruptions in language function, which can occur due to various factors but does not describe a specific type of aphasia with a set of characteristics like global aphasia does. Thus, the defining feature of global aphasia is