Jargonaphasia

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the behavioral aspects of jargonaphasia. The distinctive feature of jargon is that the patients behave as if their utterances are meaningful. The patients do not recognize that their listeners do not understand them or that the patients have difficulty in understanding their listeners. In these respects, jargon is a disturbance in consciousness and social interaction. The chapter discusses these behavioral aspects as they appear in mood change and in the phenomena of anosognosia, disorientation, reduplication, nonaphasic misnaming, and confabulation. Anosognosia is associated with hemi-inattention in which a patient ignores and does not seem conscious of the affected side of his or her body and/or circumambient hemispace. The conditions are accompanied by disorientation for place and time, and other disturbances of consciousness. Anosognosic or hemi-inattentive patients, however, have some knowledge of their condition. Even though these patients may insist they are well, they follow hospital routine, accept medication, and cooperate in procedures without question or protest.