Transcortical Sensory Aphasia

Transcortical Sensory Aphasia (TSA) has a lot in common with Wernicke’s aphasia. People with TSA produce connected, flowing speech. However, that speech is likely to lack meaning due to word errors and invented words.

TSA is less common than other types of aphasia, including the similar Wernicke’s aphasia. TSA is similar to Wernicke’s aphasia because TSA is due to damage in the brain that occurs close to Wernicke’s area. Wernicke’s area is the part of the brain that is responsible for language comprehension. However, in TSA there is no damage to Wernicke’s area itself.

TSA can be difficult to diagnose based on medical imaging. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are typically able to diagnose it based on testing. The SLP will evaluate spoken language, comprehension, repetition, reading, and writing in order to diagnose TSA.