Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area or to Wernicke's area

• A. Dyslexia
• B. Apraxia
• C. Aphasia
• D. Agnosia

Answer: (C)

Language impairment caused by damage to language areas in the left hemisphere is aphasia. When the lesion affects Broca's area, speech becomes slow and effortful, with simplified grammar. When it affects Wernicke's area, understanding spoken language is disrupted, and speech can be fluent but nonsensical. The description in the item points to aphasia because it specifically ties language trouble to damage in those left-hemisphere regions. Dyslexia is a reading-specific issue, not a broad language impairment from those brain areas. Apraxia involves trouble planning speech movements, not a direct language impairment like aphasia. Agnosia is about recognizing objects or sensory input, not language disruption. So aphasia best fits the scenario.