Limb apraxia in aphasic patients.

Limb apraxia is usually associated with left cerebral hemisphere damage, with numerous case studies involving aphasic patients. The aim of this study was to verify the occurrence of limb apraxia in aphasic patients and analyze its nature. This study involved 44 healthy volunteers and 28 aphasic patients matched for age and education.

The influence of age, gender and education on the performance of healthy individuals on a battery for assessing limb apraxia.

Introduction: Apraxia is defined as a disorder of learned skilled movements, in the absence of elementary motor or sensory deficits and general cognitive impairment, such as inattention to commands, object-recognition deficits or poor oral comprehension. Limb apraxia has long been a challenge for clinical assessment and understanding and covers a wide spectrum of disorders, all involving motor cognition and the inability to perform previously learned actions. Demographic variables such as gender, age, and education can influence the performance of individuals on different neuropsychological tests.

Reviewing the limb apraxia concept: From definition to cognitive neuropsychological models.

Apraxia is a disorder of learned skilled movements, in the absence of elementary motor or sensory deficits and general cognitive impairment such as inattention to commands, object-recognition deficits or poor oral comprehension. The first studies on apraxia were performed between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however controversy remains in praxis literature concerning apraxia types, neuroanatomical and functional correlates, as well as assessment and treatment of apraxia. Thus, a critical review of the literature was conducted searching the literature for evidence contributing to a more detailed description of apraxia and its clinical patterns, physiopathology and clinico-anatomical correlations, as well as apraxia assessment.

Spinocerebellar ataxia: perceptual and acoustic analysis of speech in three cases.

Background: dysarthrias are commonly found in patients with spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA).

Aim: to characterize perceptual and acoustic features of speech in three patients with spinocerebellar ataxia and to verify the presence of similar features among these patients.

Method: speech samples of two males with SCA3 and one male with SCA2 were obtained.