APA Dictionary of Psychology

loss of the ability to comprehend sounds or speech, in particular to understand or repeat spoken language and to name objects or qualities (see anomia). It is a fluent aphasia in which speech output is typically distorted, incorrect, or inappropriate (see paraphasia). The condition is a result of brain damage, typically in the left posterior lateral temporal lobe, and may be associated with other disorders of communication, including alexia, acalculia, or agraphia. Also called cortical sensory aphasia; receptive aphasia; sensory aphasia. [Karl Wernicke]