Akinetic mutism

Akinetic mutism

Akinetic mutism is a medical term describing patients who tend neither to speak (mutism) nor move (akinesia). It is the result of severe frontal lobe damage in which the pattern of inhibitory control is one of increasing passivity and gradually decreasing speech and motion.

An example of a cause of this disorder would be an olfactory groove meningioma. It is also seen in the final stages of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (a rare degenerative brain disease), and in acute cases of encephalitis lethargica. It can also occur in a stroke that affects both anterior cerebral territories.

Another cause of both akinesia and mutism is ablation of the cingulate gyrus. Destruction of the cingulate gyrus has been used in the treatment of psychosis. Such lesions result in akinesia, mutism, apathy, and indifference to painful stimuli. [Fix JD. "Neuroanatomy." 4th ed.]

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  • Akinetic mutism — A state in which a person is unspeaking (mute) and unmoving (akinetic). A textbook on clinical neurology observes that a person with akinetic mutism has sleep waking cycles but, when apparently awake, with eyes open, lies mute. immobile and… …   Medical dictionary

  • akinetic mutism — Pathol., Psychiatry. a state of apparent alertness with normal eye movements but no speech or other voluntary motion, usually due to a stroke. * * * …   Universalium

  • akinetic mutism — Pathol., Psychiatry. a state of apparent alertness with normal eye movements but no speech or other voluntary motion, usually due to a stroke …   Useful english dictionary

  • Mutism — refers to certain types of speech disorder, one of the following:*Akinetic mutism *Hysterical mutism *Selective mutism *Hearing mutism, an obsolete term of late 19th early 20th century for specific language impairment… …   Wikipedia

  • Akinetic — Without movement (or without much movement). A term used in neurology to denote the absence (or poverty) of movement. The word akinetic comes from the prefix a meaning without + the Greek word kinesis meaning motion = without motion. For example …   Medical dictionary

  • Mutism, akinetic — A state in which a person is unspeaking (mute) and unmoving (akinetic). A textbook on clinical neurology observes that a person with akinetic mutism has sleep waking cycles but, when apparently awake, with eyes open, lies mute. immobile and… …   Medical dictionary

  • Mutism — The inability or unwillingness to speak. A person who is mute cannot or does not care to talk. Someone who was mute was said to be dumb, not in the sense of being stupid, but in the sense of being devoid of the power of speech. The term mutism is …   Medical dictionary

  • Akinesia — Impaired body movement; without movement (or without much movement). Akinesia is a term used in neurology to denote the absence (or poverty) of movement. The word akinetic comes from the prefix a meaning without + the Greek word kinesis meaning… …   Medical dictionary

  • Akinesia — (from the prefix a , without , and the Greek κίνηση, kinisi , motion ) is the inability to initiate movement due to difficulty selecting and/or activating motor programs in the central nervous system. Common in severe cases of Parkinson s disease …   Wikipedia

  • Muteness — or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning silent . Contents 1 Causes 2 Variations 3 Coping with mutism 4 …   Wikipedia

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