Apraxia Causes

Apraxia is most often due to a lesion located in the left hemisphere of the brain, typically in the frontal and parietal lobes. Lesions may be due to stroke, acquired brain injuries, or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, Parkinson’s disease, or Huntington’s disease. It is also possible for apraxia to be caused by lesions in other areas of the brain including the right hemisphere.

Ideomotor apraxia is typically due to a decrease in blood flow to the left hemisphere of the brain and particularly the parietal and premotor areas. It is frequently seen in patients with corticobasal degeneration.

Ideational apraxia often results in functional impairments in activities of daily living (ADLs) similar to those seen with late stage dementia. More recently, it has been observed in patients with lesions in the left hemisphere near areas associated with aphasia; however, more research is needed on ideational apraxia due to brain lesions. The localization of lesions in areas of the frontal and temporal lobes would provide explanation for the difficulty in motor planning seen in ideational apraxia as well as its difficulty to distinguish it from certain aphasias.

Constructional apraxia is often caused by lesions of the inferior right parietal lobe, and can be caused by brain injury, illness, tumor or other condition that can result in a brain lesion.

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