Efferent Motor Aphasia (Kinetic Motor Aphasia)

Efferent motor aphasia or Kinetic motor aphasia occurs when a part of the frontal lobe is damaged. The frontal lobe houses the brain parts responsible for the movement of tongue and lips. The general symptom is a consistent disturbance in modifying articulation and the failure to speak spontaneously. Specifically, the patient may be unable or have a difficult time shifting from verbal sequences such as “ball-hair-cow” into “cow-ball-hair”; hence, a verbal perseveration is manifested. Also, some patients present with a telegraph style of speech such as “You… New York… study… years…” since the automaticity of speech is significantly affected.