Migraine Britin speaks with a French accent

British woman speaks after migraine with French accent.

(16.09.2010) The Briton Kay Russel has suddenly begun to speak with a French accent after a severe migraine attack. While her fellow human beings smile at the accent, the Briton is by no means enthusiastic. She feels isolated and is looking for a possible explanation. That's it „Foreign accent syndrome“ (English. „Foreign Accent Syndrome ") has long been known among professionals.

Following a severe migraine attack, Kay Russel's fellows noted changes in their phonetics that suggested that Kay spoke in both French and sometimes Eastern European accents. A phenomenon that, according to experts, is more common and has long been studied under the name Foreign Language Accent Syndrome (FAS), as Sophie Scott of London University College points out.

In previous FAS patients, the speech disorder, according to the experts almost always went from a small-scale injury of the left brain. And even in the case of the 49-year-old Britin, probably dilated blood vessels in the brain have led to stroke-like paralysis and damage to the left hemisphere. However, it has not been possible to find any special brain region responsible for the occurrence of the syndrome. The accent-like pronunciation occurs in all patients, with patients with German, Spanish, Italian or Irish accent already being examined. As part of the treatment, however, the physicians were able to determine that the speech patterns that occur do not correspond to a particular accent, but change only in the emphasis, which sometimes
sounds accentuate. So Sophie Scott explained that the supposed accent is also due to the way people move their mouths or emphasize certain syllables.

In addition, with FAS patients often experiencing short-term dumbness at the onset of the syndrome, but then quickly starting to talk again, scientists assume that FAS is not a learned bypass of brain damage or damaged area in the brain, rather, a direct damage to the language center or the motor centers necessary for the language can be assumed. (Fp)

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