Dysarthria patient and finding
This patient with dysarthria has poor articulation, but normal language function, including fluency, naming and comprehension.
[Doctor] Can you tell me how to get from your house to the hospital?
[Patient] Yes, I drive on to, take I-95 South to 836 West and then I turn right on 12th avenue to 16th street, and turn right, and the hospital is right there, Jackson.
[Doctor] Okay, can you tell me what this is?
[Patient] That’s a wrist watch.
[Doctor] Right, can you tell me what this part here is?
[Patient] This is the band, the leather band.
[Doctor] Okay, can you tell me what the hard part on the cover is?
[Patient] That’s glass.
[Doctor] Can you touch your nose, and then point to the ceiling?
[Doctor] Okay, can you repeat for me ‘pa, pa, pa’?
[Patient] Pa, pa, pa.
[Doctor] Now repeat ‘ta, ta, ta’.”
[Patient] Ta, ta, ta.
[Doctor] And now ‘ca, ca, ca’.
[Patient] Ca, ca, ca.
About dysarthria
Dysarthria is a problem of articulation due to dysfunction of the oropharyngeal muscles and, thus, may be associated with swallowing difficulty, or dysphagia. Patients with dysarthria have normal language including naming, repetition and comprehension.
Localization
The oropharyngeal muscles are controlled by both sides of the brain, thus, unilateral lesions typically result in mild dysarthria, whereas bilateral, or diffuse abnormalities result in more severe dysarthria including lesions of the bilateral cerebral hemispheres, brainstem, cranial nerves and other processes that affect the oropharyngeal muscles diffusely, such as cerebellar or neuromuscular disorders.