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The Daily Insight

What type of stroke causes expressive aphasia

Author

Andrew Campbell

Published May 24, 2026

In most cases, expressive aphasia is caused by a stroke in Broca’s area or the surrounding vicinity. Broca’s area is in the lower part of the premotor cortex in the language dominant hemisphere and is responsible for planning motor speech movements.

What kind of strokes cause aphasia?

Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia. When either ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke result in brain tissue damage in areas of the brain that are of particular importance to speech and language, a person may develop aphasia.

What artery causes expressive aphasia?

Broca’s aphasia, which many people refer to as “expressive” aphasia, is regularly associated with a middle cerebral artery stroke affecting the third frontal convolution of the frontal lobe (classical Broca’s area, Brodmann’s areas 44 and 47)1,18,19,32 and extending into the white matter (the internal capsule).

What causes expressive aphasia?

Aphasia results from damage to one or more of the areas of the brain responsible for language. Aphasia can occur suddenly, such as after a stroke (most common cause) or head injury or brain surgery, or may develop more slowly, as the result of a brain tumor, brain infection or neurological disorder such as dementia.

What type of stroke causes Wernicke's aphasia?

Wernicke aphasia is characterized by impaired language comprehension. Despite this impaired comprehension, speech may have a normal rate, rhythm, and grammar. The most common cause of Wernicke’s aphasia is an ischemic stroke affecting the posterior temporal lobe of the dominant hemisphere.

What is Penumbra stroke?

In pathology and anatomy the penumbra is the area surrounding an ischemic event such as thrombotic or embolic stroke. Immediately following the event, blood flow and therefore oxygen transport is reduced locally, leading to hypoxia of the cells near the location of the original insult.

What is the difference between an ischemic stroke and a hemorrhagic stroke?

An ischemic stroke is when blood vessels to the brain become clogged. A hemorrhagic stroke is when bleeding interferes with the brain’s ability to function.

What can cause Broca's aphasia?

  • stroke.
  • brain tumor.
  • injury to the brain, such as from a severe blow to the head or gunshot wound.
  • infection in the brain.
  • progressive neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Can expressive aphasia be reversed?

There is no cure for aphasia. Aphasia sucks—there’s no two ways about it. Some people accept it better than others, but the important thing to remember is that you can continue to improve every day.

What happens if Broca's area is damaged?

Damage to a discrete part of the brain in the left frontal lobe (Broca’s area) of the language-dominant hemisphere has been shown to significantly affect the use of spontaneous speech and motor speech control. Words may be uttered very slowly and poorly articulated.

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Which artery affects Broca's area?

[8] If the left middle cerebral artery is affected, Broca and Wernicke area (usually left hemisphere) can also be affected. An individual will present with difficulty speaking and understanding. The posterior cerebral artery supplies the occipital lobe of the contralateral visual field.

Is expressive aphasia the same as Broca's aphasia?

Expressive aphasia, also known as Broca’s aphasia, is a type of aphasia characterized by partial loss of the ability to produce language (spoken, manual, or written), although comprehension generally remains intact. A person with expressive aphasia will exhibit effortful speech.

How is expressive aphasia treated?

The recommended treatment for aphasia is usually speech and language therapy. Sometimes aphasia improves on its own without treatment. This treatment is carried out by a speech and language therapist (SLT). If you were admitted to hospital, there should be a speech and language therapy team there.

Is Wernicke's aphasia receptive or expressive?

Wernicke’s aphasia is another name for receptive aphasia. It happens when the area of your brain that controls language called the Wernicke area is damaged. This condition is also called sensory aphasia or fluent aphasia. People who have Wernicke’s aphasia can’t understand words.

What type of stroke affects speech?

A stroke that occurs in areas of the brain that control speech and language can result in aphasia, a disorder that affects your ability to speak, read, write and listen. Different aspects of language are in different parts of the left side of the brain.

What are the 4 types of aphasia?

  • Severely reduced speech, often limited to short utterances of less than four words.
  • Limited vocabulary.
  • Clumsy formation of sounds.
  • Difficulty writing (but the ability to read and understand speech).

What are the two types of ischemic stroke?

  • Thrombotic strokes. These are caused by a blood clot that develops in the blood vessels inside the brain.
  • Embolic strokes.

Which is more severe ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke?

Conclusion— Strokes are generally more severe in patients with HS. Within the first 3 months after stroke, HS is associated with a considerable increase of mortality, which is specifically associated with the hemorrhagic nature of the lesion.

What happens during a ischemic stroke?

During an ischemic stroke, arteries to your brain get blocked or become narrowed by a blood clot. Ischemic strokes can be classified as either thrombotic or embolic, depending on where the blood clot forms. In a thrombotic stroke, a blood clot forms in an artery that carries blood to your brain.

Is an embolic stroke An ischemic stroke?

An embolic stroke occurs when a blood clot that forms elsewhere in the body breaks loose and travels to the brain via the bloodstream. When the clot lodges in an artery and blocks the flow of blood, this causes a stroke. This is a type of ischemic stroke.

What causes ischemic strokes?

Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to the brain. A blood clot often forms in arteries damaged by the buildup of plaques (atherosclerosis). It can occur in the carotid artery of the neck as well as other arteries.

What causes lacunar strokes?

Lacunar stroke is caused by lack of blood flow in smaller arteries that supply deep brain structures. The most important risk factor for the development of lacunar stroke is chronic high blood pressure. The condition can cause the arteries to narrow.

What helps Broca's aphasia?

Currently, there is no standard treatment for Broca’s aphasia. Treatments should be tailored to each patient’s needs. Speech and language therapy is the mainstay of care for patients with aphasia. It is essential to provide aphasic patients a means to communicate their wants and needs, so these may be addressed.

Is aphasia from a stroke permanent?

Aphasia is not always permanent, and in some cases, an individual who suffered from a stroke will completely recover without any treatment. This kind of turnaround is called spontaneous recovery and is most likely to occur in patients who had a transient ischemic attack (TIA).

Does your speech come back after a stroke?

Many recover within a few months after the stroke, but up to 60% still have language impairments more than six months after a stroke, a condition known as chronic aphasia.

How do you test for expressive aphasia?

Your doctor will likely give you a physical and a neurological exam, test your strength, feeling and reflexes, and listen to your heart and the vessels in your neck. He or she will likely request an imaging test, usually an MRI, to quickly identify what’s causing the aphasia.

How common is aphasia after stroke?

Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia, and it has been estimated that about 20 to 40 percent of stroke patients develop aphasia.

What part of the brain is damaged in aphasia?

Damage to the temporal lobe (the side portion) of the brain may result in a fluent aphasia called Wernicke’s aphasia (see figure). In most people, the damage occurs in the left temporal lobe, although it can result from damage to the right lobe as well.

How do I activate Broca's area?

1 Overt Speech Activation. Posterior Broca’s area is activated in fMRI and PET studies when overt speech is produced, specifically in repetition of words presented visually or aurally or generation of verbs or sentences in response to presented nouns.

Does Broca's aphasia affect writing?

Writing in Broca’s aphasia tends to be impaired analogously to speech output, but reading ability may be only mildly impaired; writing will exhibit misspellings, letter omissions, poor formation of letters, and agrammatism.

What artery supplies amygdala?

The inferior (lower or infrasylvian) MCA branch gives rise to arteries that supply the lateral temporal lobe including its anterior tip and the amygdala, posterior parietal and much of the lateral occipital lobe.