Speaking gibberish Inability to follow or understand simple requests Related behaviors Given the previously stated signs and symptoms, the following behaviors are often seen in people with aphasia as a result of attempted compensation for incurred speech and language deficits: Self-repairs: Further disruptions in fluent speech as a result of mis-attempts to repair erred speech production. Struggle in non-fluent aphasias: A severe increase in expelled effort to speak after a life where talking and communicating was an ability that came so easily can cause visible frustration. Preserved and automatic language: A behavior in which some language or language sequences that were used so frequently prior to onset are still produced with more ease than other language post onset. Subcortical Subcortical aphasias characteristics and symptoms depend upon the site and size of subcortical lesion. Possible sites of lesions include the thalamus, internal capsule, and basal ganglia. Causes Aphasia is most often caused by stroke, where about a quarter of patients who experience an acute stroke develop aphasia. However, any disease or damage to the parts of the brain that control language can cause aphasia. Some of these can include brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, and progressive neurological disorders. In rare cases, aphasia may also result from herpesviral encephalitis. The herpes simplex virus affects the frontal and temporal lobes, subcortical structures, and the hippocampal tissue, which can trigger aphasia. In acute disorders, such as head injury or stroke, aphasia usually develops quickly. When caused by brain tumor, infection, or dementia, it develops more slowly. Substantial damage to tissue anywhere within the region shown in blue (on the figure in the infobox above) can potentially result in aphasia. Aphasia can also sometimes be caused by damage to subcortical structures deep within the left hemisphere, including the thalamus, the internal and external capsules, and the caudate nucleus of the basal ganglia. The area and extent of brain damage or atrophy will determine the type of aphasia and its symptoms. A very small number of people can experience aphasia after damage to the right hemisphere only. It has been suggested that these individuals may have had an unusual brain organization prior to their illness or injury, with perhaps greater overall reliance on the right hemisphere for language skills than in the general population. Primary progressive aphasia (PPA), while its name can be misleading, is actually a form of dementia that has some symptoms closely related