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Aprosodia – Right Hemisphere Function — SCE Neurology MCQ

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HardNeurorehabilitationAprosodia – Right Hemisphere FunctionSCE Neurology

A 60-year-old man with a left hemisphere stroke has recovered motor function but has persistent difficulty understanding the emotional tone (prosody) of speech. He cannot tell whether someone is angry, sad, or happy from their tone of voice alone. What is this deficit and which hemisphere is typically responsible?

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Correct answer: B — Receptive (sensory) aprosodia — right hemisphere

Receptive (sensory) aprosodia is the inability to interpret the emotional tone (prosody) of speech. Prosody processing — both receptive (understanding emotional tone) and expressive (producing emotional tone) — is predominantly a right hemisphere function, particularly the right temporal and parietal regions. This patient's left hemisphere stroke should NOT cause aprosodia — the question tests whether the candidate recognises that prosody is a right hemisphere function. If this patient has left hemisphere damage and aprosodia, further imaging may be needed to exclude bilateral pathology. A: Wernicke aphasia is language comprehension deficit. C: Broca is expressive language. D: Amusia is musical processing. E: Phonagnosia is voice recognition.

Reference: Clinical Neuroanatomy; Ross Aprosodia Classification