What is apraxia?

Apraxia is characterized by the loss of purposeful movement in individuals who have intact motor abilities, meaning their physical capacity to move is not hindered, but they are unable to execute motor actions or tasks that they have previously learned. This disorder often arises as a result of brain damage, particularly in areas responsible for planning and executing movement, such as the parietal lobe.

This condition can manifest in various ways, such as difficulty in performing tasks like brushing teeth or buttoning a shirt, even though the individual understands the purpose of the task and has no issues with muscle strength or coordination. Such impairment highlights the distinction between having the physical capability to move and the ability to purposefully organize these movements to achieve specific results.

In contrast, the other options focus on different aspects of cognitive or sensory function. The loss of language ability pertains to aphasia, which involves difficulties in communication rather than movement. The loss of sensory ability relates to agnosia, where individuals fail to recognize objects due to sensory processing issues. Finally, the ability to perform coordinated movements is irrelevant in this context, as apraxia specifically denotes the disruption of that ability in purposeful tasks.