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malthaussen

(18,281 posts)

5. Aphasia. It happens as the brain cells start to rot after 40.

Reply to NNadir (Original post)

Mon Aug 4, 2025, 03:41 PM

Aug 4

Nothing quite like starting a sentence and forgetting the word you were going to end it with!

I once "forgot" Babe Ruth's name. Had to do an amazing trek through the neural pathways to come up with it. Yes, the knowledge is still there, but the connection has snapped.

I like to think of the brain as a bunch of little boxes connected by wires. Sometimes the main wire breaks, and you have to re-route the pathways to get back to the contents of the box. This became very apparent to me after my stroke, when the entire right side of my body forgot how to function. Had to re-learn how to walk, to write, etc. Good news is it only took a couple of weeks before I was functioning more-or-less normally. For a given value of "normal." My signature, for example, completely changed from pre-stroke.

-- Mal

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UTUSN NNadir

13 replies

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Highlight:

I have a feeling I'm getting senile. It seems like every week, I come across the term Pareto analysis and have to... [View all] NNadir Aug 2 OP

Finds the words that go blank. UTUSN Aug 3 #1

That happens too. I was recently in a business meeting where the word "polymorph," a familiar word that... NNadir Aug 3 #2

Well, we notice, are aware, and describe well, so...? UTUSN Aug 3 #3

My career does not require Pareto analysis although my subsidiary nonprofessional... NNadir Aug 4 #7

Might not be something to concern you. malthaussen Aug 4 #6

Almost as offputting is the reaction of whoever witnesses the stoppage: UTUSN Aug 4 #8

Worst thing is that the word WAS there when you started speaking the sentence! BlueSpot Aug 5 #10

Yip, the missing word is definitely there in mind, together with the meaning and context. UTUSN Aug 6 #12

I commiserate; but snot Aug 3 #4

Aphasia. It happens as the brain cells start to rot after 40. malthaussen Aug 4 #5

I'm very glad to hear you came through so well. The good thing about this thread is that... NNadir Aug 5 #9

Sometimes a word or phrase is meant to impress others LogDog75 Aug 5 #11

All during my life when I heard a new word from someone, I'd say, "that's a cool word, I'm not familiar with it... NNadir Aug 6 #13