A brain disorder has sidelined actor Bruce Willis and drawn attention to a little-known condition that has many possible causes.


For an actor, aphasia could pose a huge challenge depending on how severe it is, experts say. The Hollywood actor's family released a statement on Wednesday announcing he would be stepping away from his acting career as a result of the condition.

Biomedical Scientist Zac Turner says the condition is common in older people. Willis is 67. 

What is aphasia?

Johns Hopkins University cognitive scientist Brenda Rapp, who works with people with the condition, says the disorder leads to problems with speaking, reading and writing.

"You can imagine how frustrating it is if you can't find words, if you can't organise words into sentences, if you can't get your mouth to produce the sounds you want it to produce," Dr Rapp says.

Aphasia impacts a person's language skills, not the ideas and thoughts behind them.