Cerebellar involvement in motor speech planning: some further evidence from foreign accent syndrome.

BACKGROUND

Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a rare speech disorder that usually follows from damage to the motor speech areas of the language-dominant hemisphere. Recently, a vascular FAS patient was reported in whom a close parallelism was found between the infratentorial perfusional changes on SPECT and the regression of FAS symptoms. Based on the correlation between the near remission of a right cerebellar hypoperfusion and the near remission of FAS, it was hypothesized that the 'linguistic cerebellum' might be involved in the pathogenesis of motor speech planning disorders [Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2006;108:518-522].

AIM

In this article the presumed role of the cerebellum in FAS is further investigated on the basis of an additional FAS case.

METHODS

Phonetic, neurobehavioral and neuroimaging data were analyzed and clinical-anatomical correlations were investigated.

RESULTS

In both patients, a close correspondence was found between the neurolinguistic findings and the functional neuroimaging data. (99m)Tc ECD SPECT follow-up studies demonstrated that clinical recovery of FAS symptoms was accompanied by a remission of a right cerebellar hypoperfusion.

CONCLUSION

The present study, in which the data of a new FAS patient are discussed, corroborates the view that FAS may follow disruption of a close functional interplay between the supra- and infratentorial motor speech centers.