Transcortical Motor Aphasia

ABSTRACT

Transcorticamrnotro aphasia is(TMA) a syndrome of nonfluent aphasia with good comprehension and preserved repetition. Language profiles and CT or MRI anatomy in 6 cases of TMA were studied. Their speech was characterized by impaired spontaneous speech and naming with well preserved comprehension and excellent repetition. Most of cases(4/6) had a tendency to repeat everything slavishly, namely echolalia. Perseveration was also common feature(4/6). Four patients showed quick recovery within a few weeks so as to communicate without much difficulty in daily living. The findings on computerized tomography(CT) and magnetic resonance maging(MRI) revealed that the main lesion sites were in the supplementary motor area(SMA) or in the subcortical white matter connecting between SMA and frontal perisylvian zone of Broca's area.