Ataxia and apraxia are often confused but this two are different neurological symptoms. In apraxia, there is a lack of performance and the lack of capability to bring the movements as when we talk about ataxia it has a Lack of coordination while performing the movements.
Ataxia vs Apraxia
The main difference between Ataxia and Apraxia is that Ataxia is a neurological symptom in which there is a loss of coordination of the muscles where there is a movement disorder while Apraxia is another type of neurological symptom where there is an inability to execute complex movements.
Ataxia is a neurological symptom where lack of coordination is occurring while performing the voluntary movements, which appears to be clumsiness, inaccuracy, or we can say the inability in the person, as it has disorders and irregularities. And chemically it has the condition of polymer which orientation of subunits is random.
Apraxia is a neurological symptom where there is a total or partial lack of performance coordination movements or the manipulation of the objects in the absence of motor or the disorder of the motor planning or specific disorders. The different types of apraxia are conceptual apraxia, ideomotor apraxia, constructional apraxia, and speech apraxia.
Comparison Table Between Ataxia and Apraxia
| Parameters of Comparison | Ataxia | Apraxia |
| Pathology | While performing the actions, we can see that there is a lack of synchronization. | Total or partial loss of the abilities for the movement coordination |
| Chemistry | It is the situation of the polymers in which the unit’s orientation is random | Units Make deliberate moves through the components. |
| Obsolete | Disorders and irregularity | Inability to make the movements |
| Losses | Muscles and other body parts lose coordination due to ataxia. | Loss of the ability to coordinate and voluntary the muscle’s movement. |
| Disorders | Loss of the ability to control all the body movements | Lack of muscle movements which muscles include gait abnormality. |
What is Ataxia?
Ataxia is a disease that shows the lack of muscle control and the coordination of the voluntary muscles movements such as in walking or picking the objects and the sign of underlying conditions. This disease causes many difficulties such as there may be a problem in speech, or we can say talking and in the movement of eyes and in swallowing the food the eating items.
The symptoms of this are unsteady walk, poor coordination, difficulty with fine motor tasks, tendency to stumble, eating, and many other tasks like writing, change in the style of speech or in talking, difficulty in swallowing the things, and involuntary back and forth eye movements which are called nystagmus. and if we are not aware of the symptoms then we should visit the doctor so that we will be aware of the particular disease.
Ataxia causes damage or loss of the nervous cells on our brain part and in the muscle’s control coordination system. This area of the brain helps us to control the balance of ourselves and in speech and swallowing the things which all are affected. And these causes include head trauma, strokes, cerebral palsy, Autoimmune diseases, Infections, toxic reactions, vitamin E, vitamin B-12 or thiamine deficiency, abnormalities in the brain and thyroid problems.
What is Apraxia?
Apraxia is a neurological condition as the people who are affected with this are found it so much difficult or impossible to make certain motor movements, even their muscles move normally. The small or mild form of apraxia is called dyspraxia. It can occur so many numbers of different forms.
There are several varieties of apraxia speech, including childhood apraxia and apraxia that affect persons of all ages. Adults, on the other hand, have a lot of this. People lose their ability to speak as a result of this. The signs and symptoms are as follows: Difficulty putting syllables together in the right order to form intelligible words, or incapacity to do so Pronouncing complicated or long words might be difficult. Use of nonverbal communication in excess, Some words have consonants omitted at the beginning and finish. Vowel sound distortion, Inconsistencies in speech, such as being unable to pronounce a word or sound correctly at times but not others, and incorrect inflections or stresses on certain sounds or words.
The causes of these diseases are brain damage and the damage to that area of the brain to control the ability to speak of the individual. Experts did not find what causes apraxia to the children in their childhood. Some say that it is a result of signaling problems between the brain and the muscles for speaking.
Main Differences Between Ataxia and Apraxia
- While performing the actions, there is a lack of coordination In ataxia. whereas Apaxia have Total or partial loss of the abilities for the movement coordination
- Ataxia has the condition of polymers where the orientation of the units is random whereas Apaxia Make purposeful movements in the elements
- Ataxia has Disorders and irregularity whereas Apaxia has the Inability to make movements.
- Ataxia Loss coordination with the muscles, limbs, and others whereas Apaxia Loss the ability to coordinate and voluntary muscles movement.
- Ataxia Loss the full control of body movements whereas Apaxia causes a Lack of muscle movements which includes gait abnormality.
Conclusion
From the above content, we conclude that both ataxia and apraxia are neurological symptoms where lack of coordintation can be observed when we perform any action. There is also a loss of control over the muscles move as the muscles become weak whereas when we talk about apraxia it is an inability to carry the purposeful movements which are despite the coordination and the power of the muscles.
As here the person became unable because of the nervous pathway while in apraxia all the complex integrated movements are difficult to perform. Therefore, we can say this both are related to the balance disorder of the body and the speech disorder. As there are some symptoms in ataxia that is like swallowing problems and others. And both symptoms can be further classified into three categories. there are different types of ataxia are present which are namely called cerebellar ataxia, sensory ataxia, and vestibular ataxia.
References
- https://www.nature.com/articles/ng1303
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/778537