Ataxia vs Apraxia: Difference and Comparison

Ataxia and apraxia are confused, but these two are different neurological symptoms.

In apraxia, there is a lack of performance and capability to bring the movements, as when we talk about ataxia, it lacks coordination while performing the exercises. 

Key Takeaways

1. Ataxia manifests as a lack of muscle coordination affecting balance, walking, and fine motor skills, whereas apraxia involves difficulty executing purposeful movements despite having the physical ability.
2. Ataxia stems from damage to the cerebellum, due to genetic mutations, toxins, or other neurological conditions, while apraxia arises from damage to the brain’s motor cortex or related pathways.
3. Treatment for ataxia targets symptom management and underlying causes, while apraxia treatment centers on physical, occupational, and speech therapy to improve motor planning and coordination.

Ataxia vs Apraxia 

The 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 of a lack of coordination performing voluntary movements. It appears to be clumsiness, inaccuracy, or inability on, as it has disorders and irregularities. And chemically, it has the condition of a polymer in which the orientation of subunits is random.

Apraxia is a neurological symptom with a total or partial lack of performance coordination movements or the manipulation of objects in the absence of motor or the disorder of motor planning or specific conditions.

The different types of apraxia are conceptual apraxia, ideomotor apraxia, constructional apraxia, and speech apraxia.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Ataxia	Apraxia
Pathology	Total or partial loss of the ability for the movement coordination	It is the situation of the polymers in which the unit’s orientation is random.
Chemistry	Loss of the ability to coordinate and volunteer the muscle’s movement.	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 voluntary muscle movements such as walking or picking objects and the sign of underlying conditions.

This disease causes many difficulties such as there may be a problem with speech, or we can say talking and in the movement of eyes and in swallowing food the eating items.

The symptoms of this are unsteady walking, poor coordination, difficulty with delicate motor tasks, the tendency to stumble, eating, and many other tasks like writing, change in the style of speech or in talking, difficulty in swallowing 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 mindful of the particular disease.

Ataxia causes damage or loss of the nerve cells in our brain part and in the muscle’s control coordination system. This area of the brain helps us control the balance of ourselves and 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 by this are found it so much difficult or impossible to make sure motor movements, even their muscles, move.

The small or mild form of apraxia is called dyspraxia. It can occur so many numbers of different formats.

Several varieties of apraxia speech, including childhood apraxia and apraxia, 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 correct order to form intelligible words or incapacity to pronounce 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 inflexions or stresses on certain sounds or words.

The causes of these diseases are brain damage and damage to the area of the brain to control the ability to speak of the individual.

Experts did not find what causes apraxia in children in their childhood. Some say that it results from signalling problems between the brain and the muscles for speaking. 

Main Differences Between Ataxia and Apraxia

1. 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
2. Ataxia has the condition of polymers where the orientation of the units is random, whereas Apaxia Make purposeful movements in the elements.
3. Ataxia has Disorders and irregularity whereas Apaxia has the Inability tInabilityvements.
4. Ataxia causes Loss of coordination with the muscles, limbs, and others, whereas Apaxia causes Loss the ability to coordinate and voluntary muscle movement.
5. Ataxia causes Loss the full control of body movements, whereas Apaxia causes a Lack of muscle movements, including gait abnormality.

References

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/ng1303
2. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/778537

Last Updated : 30 June, 2023