Flaccid Dysarthria Flashcards
What is Flaccid Dysarthria?
- Caused by injury or disease of one or more cranial or spinal nerves involved in speech
- to the muscles involved in speech, or
- to the junction between them
What is impaired in Flaccid Dysarthria?
Reflect problems in the nuclei, axons, or neuromuscular junctions that make up the motor units of the Final Common Pathways (FCP).
May be manifest in any or all of the:
-respiratory
-phonatory
-resonatory
-and articulatory components of speech
What word is Flaccid Dysarthria?
WEAKNESS
Speech:
Continuous breathiness
Diplophonia (2 pitches in voice)
Nasal emissions
Short phrases
Hypernasality
Rapid deterioration and recovery with rest
Imprecise alternating motion rates (AMRs)
Physical Characteristics:
Weakness
Flaccidity
Atrophy
Fasciculations
hypoactive gag reflex
Rapid deterioration and recovery with rest
Hypertonia
What are the Characteristics of Flaccid Dysarthria?
Around 8% of all dysarthrias
Muscle weakness and reduced muscle tone in one or more groups of muscles
Decrease in the speed, range and accuracy of speech movements.
These are problems of EXECUTION
NOT planning or programming.
What are the 5 characteristics of Flaccid Dysarthria?
- Weakness
- Hypotonia
- Atrophy
- Fasciculations
- Progressive Weakness
Clinical Characteristics info on: WEAKNESS
WEAKNESS
Paresis – partial loss of use of the muscle group
Paralysis – total loss of muscle contraction
Can be due to damage in the cell body of the LMN, the axon of the LMN, the neuromuscular junction (synapse), or the muscle itself
Observed during single, sustained, or repetitive contractions
Clinical Characteristics info on: HYPOTONIA
Reduced Muscle Tone
- “Floppy”
- Reduced resistance to passive movement
Also display hyporeflexia
- Reduced reflexes in the affected muscles
Clinical Characteristics info on: ATROPHY
Reduction in muscle volume due to the lack of communication between the nerve and muscle
NOT an acute symptom, takes some time to take effect
Associated with more significant paresis or paralysis
Clinical Characteristics info on: FASCICULATIONS
- Visible, arrhythmic, isolated twitches in resting muscle
- Due to spontaneous action potentials in dying nerves
- Primarily seen when the LMN is damaged, not when the muscle alone is damaged
Clinical Characteristics info on: PROGRESSIVE WEAKNESS
When the neuromuscular junction is affected, muscle will weaken with sustained or repeated contraction
This is more significant than simple fatigue
- With rest or certain medications, the person will recover strength very quickly
Commonly seen in conditions like myasthenia gravis (grave muscle weakness)
CN V- Trigeminal Nerve Lesion Info
Begins in the Pons
Rarely the only CN involved in flaccid dysarthria
Significant sensory pain (trigeminal neuralgia) can affect speech
What is CN V- Trigeminal Nerve Lesion NON SPEECH Characteristics?
NON-SPEECH
- Difficulty resisting lateral pressure on jaw (unilateral)
- Jaw hangs open at rest (bilateral)
- Difficulty with chewing or drooling is sometimes reported
What is CN V- Trigeminal Nerve Lesion SPEECH Characteristics?
SPEECH
- Unilateral damage does not usually affect speech significantly
- Possibly a mildly slower rate for Puh during AMRs (vs Tuh or Kuh)
- Bilateral damage reduces precision or fully impairs labial and dental sounds and decreases precision of other consonants and vowels
CN VII- Facial Nerve Lesions Info
Begins in the lower Pons near the Abducens nerve (lateral eye movement)
Travels near CN VIII after leaving brainstem and can be impacted by acoustic neuromas
Infections (e.g., herpes zoster) can trigger Bell’s palsy
What is CN VII- Facial Nerve Lesion NONSPEECH Characteristics?
NON SPEECH
- Drooping eyebrow and unwrinkled forehead on the affected side
- Ipsilateral eye does not blink or close
- Lip may droop and not seal during eating, increased chance of biting lip
- During recovery, regeneration may cause simultaneous blink/face mvmt
What is CN VII- Facial Nerve Lesion SPEECH Characteristics?
SPEECH
- Decreased precision and rate on “puh” but not “tuh” or “kuh”
- Distortion of bilabial and labiodental consonants
- May exaggerate jaw movement to compensate for lip weakness
CN IX – Glossopharyngeal Lesions Info
Begins in the medulla alongside CN X- Vagus (nucleus ambiguus)
Usually damaged with CN X (at minimum), not in isolation
What is CN IX- Glossopharyngeal Nerve Lesion NON SPEECH Characteristics
NONSPEECH
- Asymmetric gag reflex if damage is unilateral
- Pain in the upper pharynx (glossopharyngeal neuralgia)
- Decreased pharyngeal elevation during swallow