Cerebral glucose metabolism in Wernicke's, Broca's, and conduction aphasia
E. J. Metter, D. Kempler, C. Jackson, W. R. Hanson, J. C. Mazziotta and M. E. Phelps
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Sepulveda, Calif.
Cerebral glucose metabolism was evaluated in patients with either
Wernicke's (N = 7), Broca's (N = 11), or conduction (N = 10) aphasia using
18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose with positron emission tomography. The three
aphasic syndromes differed in the degree of left-to-right frontal metabolic
asymmetry, with Broca's aphasia showing severe asymmetry and Wernicke's
aphasia mild-to-moderate metabolic asymmetry, while patients with
conduction aphasia were metabolically symmetric. On the other hand, the
three syndromes showed the same degree of metabolic decline in the left
temporal region. The parietal region appeared to separate conduction
aphasia from both Broca's and Wernicke's aphasias. Common aphasic features
in the three syndromes appear to be due to common changes in the temporal
region, while unique features were associated with frontal and parietal
metabolic differences.
