What is "apraxia"

apraxia \apraxia\ n. 1. inability to make purposeful movements, but without paralysis or loss of sensory function.

1877, medical Latin, from German apraxie (H. Steinthal, 1871), from Greek apraxia "inaction," from privative prefix a- (see a- (3)) + praxis "a doing, action, business" (see praxis) + abstract noun ending -ia.

n. Total or partial loss of the ability to perform coordinated movements or manipulate objects in the absence of motor or sensory impairment; specifically, a disorder of motor planning.

n. inability to make purposeful movements

Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex), in which someone has difficulty with the motor planning to perform tasks or movements when asked, provided that the request or command is understood and he/she is willing to perform the task. A person with apraxia cannot move his or her lips or tongue to the right place to say sounds correctly because, even though the muscles are not weak, the messages from the brain to the mouth are disrupted. The nature of the brain damage determines the severity. Apraxia is a disorder of voluntary movement where one cannot execute a purposeful activity despite the presence of adequate mobility, strength, sensation, coordination and comprehension. It is caused by damage to specific areas of the cerebrum. Apraxia should not be confused with ataxia, a lack of coordination of movements; aphasia, an inability to produce and/or comprehend language; abulia, the lack of desire to carry out an action; or allochiria, in which patients perceive stimuli to one side of the body as occurring on the other. Developmental coordination disorder is the developmental disorder of motor planning.