Meynert on Wernickeʹs Aphasia

This paper examines Meynertʹs contribution to aphasia, in particular the suggestion that Meynert already had described the syndrome of sensory aphasia. I examine Meynertʹs own writings on this subject, Wernickeʹs statements on this issue and biographies of Meynert and Wernicke. I argue that Meynert did not describe sensory aphasia, nor is there convincing evidence that he stimulated Wernicke in this direction. Meynert was primarily interested in the global neuroanatomical organization of the brain and in particular the special role of the frontal lobes.