Developmental Foreign Accent Syndrome: Report of a New Case

TLDR

The study hypothesizes that developmental foreign accent syndrome and developmental apraxia of speech are related phenomena due to cerebro‑cerebellar network impairment. A 17‑year‑old Belgian boy with developmental foreign accent syndrome and developmental apraxia of speech showed normal IQ but impaired planning, and SPECT imaging revealed hypoperfusion in prefrontal, medial frontal, lateral temporal, and right cerebellar regions.

Abstract

This paper presents the case of a 17-year-old right-handed Belgian boy with developmental FAS and comorbid developmental apraxia of speech (DAS). Extensive neuropsychological and neurolinguistic investigations demonstrated a normal IQ but impaired planning (visuo-constructional dyspraxia). A Tc-99m-ECD SPECT revealed a significant hypoperfusion in the prefrontal and medial frontal regions, as well as in the lateral temporal regions. Hypoperfusion in the right cerebellum almost reached significance. It is hypothesized that these clinical findings support the view that FAS and DAS are related phenomena following impairment of the cerebro-cerebellar network.