Apraxia is a condition that occurs after brain damage, in which an individual cannot perform a motion or task, or imitate some movement after they receive a verbal command. Also, one can be said to be suffering from Apraxia if they cannot perform a motion that is associated with the usage of a particular tool, despite the individual's willingness to use it. (Leiguarda and Marsden, 2000). There are various types of apraxia, but two of the most common are limb and constructional. This journal, therefore, explores the symptoms and regions of the brain affected by each.
Carlson and Birkett (2016) describe limb apraxia as the inability to move the correct section of a limb or making the wrong motion using the right part or making the proper motions but in the wrong order. The manifestation of limb apraxia depends on the severity of the damage to the brain. For example, after someone suffers a major accident, doctors may ask a patient to perform certain motions with their hands, to try and to determine if they suffered brain damage. One of the most critical symptoms of limb apraxia is the difficulty to perform specific tasks without the presence of the real object. The patient struggles to understand the instructions, envision the object, and make the appropriate motions. For example, if one is told to pretend to use a key to open a lock, a healthy person would clench their fingers, move the clench forwards as if inserting the key, and finally twist their wrist as they turn it. However, a patient with limb apraxia might rotate their wrist before inserting the key. In some instances, it is difficult to judge a patient's motor skills if they cannot understand the instructions. They might find it challenging to process verbal commands or comprehend their requirements to mimic someone else's movements.
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Damage to the left parietal hemisphere may cause limb apraxia. This section of the brain is responsible for the organization of the bodily movement, while the right parietal region interprets the immediate environment. Also, if the frontal and parietal lobes are damaged, one might struggle to imitate hand gestures, and recognize their meaning.
Conversely, constructional apraxia makes it difficult for an individual to draw images or assemble elemental components (Carlson and Birkett, 2016). Therefore, while such patients might not struggle to perform motions or use various objects, they will fail to comprehend geometrical aspects and correlations. Constructional apraxia is a result of damage to the right parietal lobe. The entire right brain hemisphere helps one perceive and interpret spatial information. Therefore, damage to this section makes it very difficult for someone to replicate their thoughts in two and three-dimensional spaces. For instance, a patient with constructional apraxia cannot draw a simple cube, whether from memory or just imitating an existing image. While they understand how a cube looks, they cannot interpret the information into a series of lines on a piece of paper.
Both types of apraxia occur after damage to the brain. Therefore, it is essential to understand the potential causes of the damage. The most common is blunt force trauma. However, any condition that would cause a lesion in the lobes of the brain can cause apraxia. It is, therefore, critical for doctors to monitor patients of brain damage and establish if they are suffering from any of the various types of apraxia.
References
Carlson, N., and Birkett, M. (2016). Physiology of Behavior . Boston: Pearson.
Leiguarda, R. C., and Marsden, C. D. (2000). Limb Apraxias: Higher-order Disorders of Sensorimotor Integration. Brain , 123(5), 860-879.
