Aphasia——The disorder that makes you lose your words

失语症——让你失去言语的紊乱

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Language is an essential part of our lives that we often take for granted.

With it, we can communicate our thoughts and feelings,

lose ourselves in novels,

send text messages,

and greet friends.

It's hard to imagine being unable to turn thoughts into words.

语言是生活中非常基本的部分，我们经常会觉得它的存在是理所应当的

有了它，我们可以交流我们的思想和感情

沉浸在书本里

发送短信

向朋友打招呼

很难想象当我们不能把想法变成语言时会是怎么样。

But if the delicate web of language networks in your brain

became disrupted by stroke, illness, or trauma,

you could find yourself truly at a loss for words.

This disorder, called aphasia, can impair all aspects of communication.

但是如果大脑中脆弱的语言网络

被中风，疾病，或者外伤所损坏了

你会发现自己真的哑口无言

这种叫做失语症的病症，可以阻碍所有的交流方式

People who have aphasia remain as intelligent as ever.

They know what they want to say,

but can't always get their words to come out correctly.

They may unintentionally use substitutions called paraphasias,

switching related words, like saying "dog" for "cat,"

or words that sound similar, such as "house" for "horse."

Sometimes, their words may even be unrecognizable.

失语症患者患病后智商不变

他们知道自己想说什么

但是不能每次都准确无误的说出

他们可能会不经意的用错词语

像用“狗”代替“猫” 一样用相关联的词替换

或者是听上去相似的词 例如“house“说成"horse”

有些时候他们说的词语甚至不被认知

There are several types of aphasia grouped into two categories:

fluent, or receptive, aphasia

and non-fluent, or expressive, aphasia.

People with fluent aphasia may have normal vocal inflection

but use words that lack meaning.

They have difficulty comprehending the speech of others

and are frequently unable to recognize their own speech errors.

失语症被分为几种，归属于两大类

流畅的，或者善于倾听的失语症

和不流畅的，表达类的失语症

患有流畅失语症的人有正常的语调变化

但是用的词没有任何意义

他们无法理解别人在说什么

也经常时常无法找出自己语句里的错误

People with non-fluent aphasia, on the other hand,

may have good comprehension

but will experience long hesitations between words and make grammatical errors.

We all have that tip-of-the-tongue feeling from time to time

when we can't think of a word,

but having aphasia can make it hard to name simple, everyday objects.

Even reading and writing can be difficult and frustrating.

So how does this language loss hAppen?

另一方面，非流畅型失语症患者

或许有好的理解能力

但是会说话时出现长时间的停顿以及语法错误。

我们都有过那种话到嘴边

却找不到适合的词的感觉。

但是患有失语症意味着连简单的日常生活用品都无法表达

连阅读和写作都会变得困难和沮丧

那么这个失语症是怎么发生的呢？

The human brain has two hemispheres.

In most people, the left hemisphere governs language.

We know this because in 1861,

the physician Paul Broca studied a patient

who lost the ability to use all  but a single word, "tan."

During a postmortem study of that patient's brain,

Broca discovered a large lesion in the left hemisphere

now known as Broca's area.

人的大脑里有两个半球

我们知道大部分人的左脑负责语言

这要归功于1861年

一位叫做保罗布洛卡的内科医生的研究

他的研究的病患只能说一个词 tan

通过对他的大脑的尸检

布洛卡发现了患者左脑有一大块区域受到了损伤

现在这一区域被称为布洛卡区

Scientists today believe that Broca's area is responsible in part for naming objects

and coordinating the muscles involved in speech.

Behind Broca's area is Wernicke's area near the auditory cortex.

That's where the brain attaches meaning to speech sounds.

Damage to Wernicke's area impairs the brain's ability to comprehend language.

Aphasia is caused by injury to one or both of these specialized language areas.

现在，科学家发现布洛卡区负责给物体取名字

并且协调说话用的肌肉

在布洛卡区的后面是威尔尼克区 靠近听觉皮质

这里是大脑把意思和声音所联系起来的地方

威尔尼克区受伤会干涉到大脑理解语言的能力

失语症就是由于二者之一或全部受损产生的

Fortunately, there are other areas of the brain

which support these language centers

and can assist with communication.

Even brain areas that control movement are connected to language.

FMRI studies found that when we hear action words, like "run" or "dance,"

parts of the brain responsible for movement light up

as if the body was actually running or dancing.

幸运的是 大脑里还有别的地方

支持着这两个中心区域

同时可以帮助交流

甚至有些控制运动的大脑区域都和语言有联系

功能性磁共振成像发现了当我们听到动作词 例如“跑”或“跳”

大脑中负责控制运动的部分会亮起来

好像身体真的在跑步或者跳舞一样

Our other hemisphere contributes to language, too,

enhancing the rhythm and intonation of our speech.

These non-language areas sometimes assist people with aphasia

when communication is difficult.

我们右脑半球也对语言有贡献

它加强我们讲话时的节奏和声调

当交流十分困难的时候

这些非语言区域有时也会帮助失语症患者

So how common is aphasia?

Approximately 1 million people in the U.S. alone have it,

with an estimated 80,000 new cases per year.

About one-third of stroke survivors suffer from aphasia

making it more prevalent  than Parkinson's disease

or multiple sclerosis,

yet less widely known.

那失语症有多常见呢？

在美国，大约有一百万人患有这种疾病

估计每年还会新增八万名病患

中风活下来的人里面大约有三分之一被失语症所折磨

这让它比帕金森综合症和多发性硬化症更加普遍

但是知道的人却更少

There is one rare form of aphasia called primary progressive aphasia, or PPA,

which is not caused by stroke or brain injury,

but is actually a form of dementia

in which language loss  is the first symptom.

The goal in treating PPA is to maintain language function for as long as possible

before other symptoms of dementia eventually occur.

有一种罕见的失语症叫做原发性进行性失语症 简称PPA

它不是由中风或者大脑受损引起的

而实际上是失智症的一种表现

语言能力退化是失智症的第一症状

治疗PPA的目的是让患者在其他症状最终出现之前

尽量长时间的保持语言能力

However, when aphasia is acquired from a stroke or brain trauma,

language improvement may be achieved through speech therapy.

Our brain's ability to repair itself, known as brain plasticity,

permits areas surrounding a brain lesion

to take over some functions during the recovery process.

Scientists have been conducting experiments using new forms of technology,

which they believe may encourage brain plasticity in people with aphasia.

如果失语症是由大脑受损或中风引起的

语言治疗或许可以提高语言能力

我们的大脑有自我修复的能力 被称之为大脑的可塑性

在大脑受伤区域自我修复的过程中

这使得它周围的部分行使部分功能

科学家们在用新的技术开展实验

希望达到增强失语症患者大脑可塑性的目标

Meanwhile, many people with aphasia remain isolated,

afraid that others won't understand them or give them extra time to speak.

By offering them the time and flexibility to communicate in whatever way they can,

you can help open the door  to language again,

moving beyond the limitations of aphasia.

现在 许多失语症患者依然与世隔绝

他们怕别人不理解他们在说什么 或者不给他们多一点时间去表达

通过付出一些时间，用他们可以做到的方式灵活的交流

你可以帮助他们重新打开语言的大门

超越失语症的限制