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A case of deaf–mutism as an expression of pure word deafness: neuroimaging and electrophysiological data
Author(s) -
Arias M.,
Requena I.,
Ventura M.,
Pereiro I.,
Castro A.,
Alvarez A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1331.1995.tb00179.x
Subject(s) - audiology , neuroimaging , medicine , comprehension , brainstem , unilateral hearing loss , psychology , perception , hearing loss , neuroscience , linguistics , philosophy
We report a case of pure word deafness, clinically expressed as deaf–mutism in a 17‐year‐old girl, who was affected from encephalitis when she was 18 months old and hadn't acquired language skills. Actually, physical examination revealed buccolingual apraxia and absence of spontaneous speech, auditory comprehension, repetition and denomination, whereas perception of non‐verbal sounds was preserved. The seven waves of brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAER) were present with normal latencies; middle latency responses (MLR) were also normal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed bilateral temporoparietal lesions. This case proves that lesions which may give rise to word deafness, when they occur in prelingual age, can determine a peculiar deafmutism clinical picture.