Wernicke’s aphasia is a specific type of aphasia that affects an individual’s ability to make sense when speaking.

Aphasia affects 25 to 40 percent of people who experience strokes. Words tend to become jumbled (word salad) and sentences become incomprehensible. Wernicke’s aphasia is also referred to as ‘fluent aphasia’ or ‘receptive aphasia’. Wernicke's area (left posterior temporal region) controls the ability to understand the meaning of words. Damage to this area results in a lack of comprehension of spoken words and sentences, despite being able to produce fluent speech.