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Disprosodia: symptoms, causes and treatment

Disprosodia: symptoms, causes and treatment

March 24, 2024

Dysprosody is an alteration in the pronunciation and intonation of words , whose cause has been linked to important neurological damage. It is one of the manifestations of the foreign accent syndrome, although it also occurs in people with Parkinson's, among other conditions. It is also an alteration that has allowed to study the relationships between language, affective state, emotional processing and communication.

Next we will see what is dysprosody and what are its main characteristics.

  • Related article: "The 8 types of speech disorders"

What is dysprosody?

The term "disprosodia" is composed, on the one hand, of the word "dis" which means separation, divergence or difficulty. And on the other hand, it is composed of the word "prosody", which in grammar is the branch responsible for teaching the pronunciation and correct accentuation of words.


In phonology, the prosody studies the phonic features that affect the metric , for example the rhythm or the structure of the verses, but especially the accents and the intonation.

So, dysprosody is the difficulty in pronouncing or intone words . It is characterized by alterations in intensity, pauses, rhythm, cadence and intonation of words. As such, the person who has dysprosodia can understand the language and vocalize the desired responses, however, they find it difficult to control the manner in which they state those responses.

Disprosodia and foreign accent syndrome

One of the most studied conditions in relation to this is the foreign accent syndrome, which consists of a sudden pronunciation with unusual tone and accentuation.


In fact, the first studies on dysprosodia are also the first studies conducted with this syndrome. At the beginning of the 20th century, the French neurologist Pierre Marie studied the case of a woman who, after suffering a cardiovascular accident, he drastically modified and suddenly his intonation .

Although there have been few, since then, similar cases have been reported, which have led to the study of the relationship between hemiplegia and alteration in speech patterns.

Other conditions in which dysprosodia may manifest itself is in Parkinson's disease (in this case it has been in fact very studied), in Autism Spectrum Disorder, in some types of depression and schizophrenia .

  • Maybe you are interested: "Foreign Accent Syndrome: symptoms, causes and treatment"

Difference between dysprosia and prosodic disability

When manifested as a major change in intonation and pronunciation, dysprosodia can be confused with the expression of a certain mood or even with a difficulty in the processing of emotional information. However, this is not necessarily the case.


To establish differences between dysprosodia and affective processing, important terms have emerged. One of them is the "prosodic disability".

While dysprosody refers to the absence of physical and / or linguistic means to indicate the affective state through intonation; Prosodic disability refers to the opposite phenomenon: a previous "affective deficit" it can be reflected through atypical prosodic schemes (Gallardo and Moreno, 2010).

Causes

The causes of dysprosia have been attributed mainly to severe neurological damage . The most studied have been brain tumors and traumas, generally caused by cerebrovascular accidents, although in some cases it has also been related to brain and / or cranial traumatism.

However cases of dysprosia have also been reported after surgeries in the larynx , which may indicate that there is not necessarily only a neurological etiology.

Recently dysprosody has been explained by cognitive-affective functions related to cortical areas of the right cerebral hemisphere. And even more recently, the participation of the subcortical structure and the relationship of prosody with communication and emotional processing in different syndromes has begun to be investigated.

Types of dysprosodia

From the above, two main types of dysprosia have emerged, with also differential symptoms, dysprosody of the linguistic type and dysprosodia of an emotional type. Each of these types refers to the modifications in the individual discourse of the person, and far from being exclusive manifestations, both types are usually closely related .

1. Disprosodia of linguistic type

Is about an alteration in the intention of the speech , mainly due to verbal variations.For example, it can be difficult for a person to state a question differently from an affirmation, which makes it difficult to establish communication with other people. He also has difficulty emphasizing certain words or revealing the intention of an expression.

2. Disprosodia of emotional type

It is characterized by a difficulty transmitting or expressing emotions through speech , and sometimes it can include difficulties to understand the emotions that are transmitted in the speech of other people, precisely due to the important changes in the intonation and the difficulty to control them.

The severity of emotional dysprosodia may vary according to the neurological damage, and as we have said before, it does not mean that the person has lost the ability to experience emotions, but that there is a difficulty in expressing them and / or understanding them. The latter has been especially important in the understanding of different psychiatric or neurological diagnoses such as those that we have mentioned throughout this text.

Treatment

Dysprosody, especially linguistic, it is usually evaluated and treated with language therapy . Especially including exercises to identify prosodic signals in natural situations, that is, practicing everyday conversations.

Although its effects on dysprosodia of the emotional type are less promising, there are also strategies to improve the expression of emotions that complement language therapies.

Bibliographic references:

  • Caekebeke, J.F., Schinkel-Jennekens, A., van der Linder, M.E., Bruruma, O.J. and Ross, R.A. (1991). The interpretation of dysprosody in patients with Parkinson's disease. Journal Neurologycal, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 54 (2): 145-148.
  • Gallardo, B. and Moreno, V. (Eds.). (2010). Clinical Linguistics Studies. Volume 5. Clinical Applications. University of Valencia: Valencia.
  • Sidtis, J. J. and Van Lancker, D. (2003). A Neurobehavioral Approach to Dysprosody. Seminars in Speech and Language, 24 (2): 93-105.
  • Pell, M. (1999). Fundamental Frequency Encoding of Linguistic and Emotional Prosody by Right Hemisphere-Damaged Speakers. Brain and Language. 69 (2): 161-92.

Neurociencias - Afasia de broca (March 2024).


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