Apraxia: An Overview
Apraxia: An Overview
It is undisputed that there is a predisposition in human behavior to imitate and mimic those around us. It is even thought that this ability is endowed in humans from the time of birth. Newborns, for instance, first begin to imitate the gestures of their caregivers. Even adults have a tendency to mimic behaviors or attitudes. One neurological disorder, however, may debilitate this tendency. This is one of the most prominent characteristics of apraxia. According to Rachel Goldman Gross et al, patients suffering from apraxia are plagued with the inability to carry out learned, skilled motor acts despite preserved motor and sensory systems, coordination, comprehension, and cooperation. However, in most cases, this deficit cannot be attributed to elementary motor or sensory systems. Alan Sunderland et al, states that the presence of apraxia is largely attributed to the left hemisphere of the brain, specifically the left inferior parietal lobe. Lesions in the brain do not discriminate and can occur equally to genders, at any age. Natural brain lesions occur as a result of stroke, tumors, head injury, or hemorrhaging. Brain damage can be acquired in a number of ways, including neurosurgery or, more commonly, as a result of a stroke (Ward, pg. 79). In most of the cases I reviewed during my research, apraxia came as a result of the latter, and patients varied in age and gender. Apraxia often occurs simultaneously with aphasia. It has also been reported in cases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
In their book, Apraxia: The Neuropsychology of Action, Leslie J. Gonzalez Rothi and Kenneth M. Heilman explain that more often than not, the term apraxia is used to indicate a disorder of volitional movement where nonvolitional movement is spared. Georg Goldenberg, author of Apraxia: A Cognitive Side of Motor Control, states there are two main distinguishing factors between apraxia and other brain disorders with motor symptoms.
It is undisputed that there is a predisposition in human behavior to imitate and mimic those around us. It is even thought that this ability is endowed in humans from the time of birth. Newborns, for instance, first begin to imitate the gestures of their caregivers. Even adults have a tendency to mimic behaviors or attitudes. One neurological disorder, however, may debilitate this tendency. This is one of the most prominent characteristics of apraxia. According to Rachel Goldman Gross et al, patients suffering from apraxia are plagued with the inability to carry out learned, skilled motor acts despite preserved motor and sensory systems, coordination, comprehension, and cooperation. However, in most cases, this deficit cannot be attributed to elementary motor or sensory systems. Alan Sunderland et al, states that the presence of apraxia is largely attributed to the left hemisphere of the brain, specifically the left inferior parietal lobe. Lesions in the brain do not discriminate and can occur equally to genders, at any age. Natural brain lesions occur as a result of stroke, tumors, head injury, or hemorrhaging. Brain damage can be acquired in a number of ways, including neurosurgery or, more commonly, as a result of a stroke (Ward, pg. 79). In most of the cases I reviewed during my research, apraxia came as a result of the latter, and patients varied in age and gender. Apraxia often occurs simultaneously with aphasia. It has also been reported in cases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
In their book, Apraxia: The Neuropsychology of Action, Leslie J. Gonzalez Rothi and Kenneth M. Heilman explain that more often than not, the term apraxia is used to indicate a disorder of volitional movement where nonvolitional movement is spared. Georg Goldenberg, author of Apraxia: A Cognitive Side of Motor Control, states there are two main distinguishing factors between apraxia and other brain disorders with motor symptoms.