Disorders of speech and language: aphasia, apraxia and dysarthria.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We review recent important papers pertaining to acquired aphasia, apraxia of speech and dysarthria with special attention to clinically significant work published in the last 12 months.

RECENT FINDINGS: The role of the contralateral inferior frontal gyrus in language recovery after stroke is controversial, but is an area of active research, particularly in functional imaging studies. Recent treatment studies in poststroke aphasia have shown that intensity of language therapy may be more important than the method of therapy. Some studies have indicated that amphetamines, piracetam and repetitive transcortical magnetic stimulation may be effective adjuncts to speech and language therapy. Treatment studies for poststroke dysarthria indicate that speech supplementation strategies may be effective and deserve further study.

SUMMARY: Recent studies of aphasia provide clues regarding language recovery poststroke, but further studies of the role of the ipsi and contralateral inferior frontal gyrus are necessary, and should be longitudinal. There are relatively few recent studies on the treatment of acquired disorders of speech and language, other than poststroke aphasia.