What does aphasia primarily affect in a patient?

Aphasia primarily affects a patient's ability to communicate verbally and often impacts their speech production. This means that individuals with aphasia may struggle to find the right words, form sentences, or articulate their thoughts effectively, though their understanding of language and cognitive functions may remain largely intact.

Aphasia can arise from various conditions, most notably after a stroke that affects the language centers of the brain, such as Broca’s area or Wernicke’s area. While individuals might still demonstrate an understanding of language to some degree, the hallmark of aphasia is the disruption it causes in their spoken or written communication.

In this context, while the ability to understand language may also be impaired in certain types of aphasia, the primary and most noticeable impact occurs in the ability to produce speech. Therefore, identifying aphasia focuses significantly on the challenges surrounding the verbal expression of thoughts rather than cognitive functions like memory or motor control.