FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME: A LANGUAGE CHANGING DISORDER

Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a speech disorder of abrupt onset in which the affected person's spoken output is altered such that it is perceived to have the quality of a foreign accent.It is a rare phenomenon.More than 100 cases with the syndrome have been published, the majority of which were associated with observed insults of speech centre.Some other cases have been described without identifiable organic brain injury, especially in patients with psychiatric illness.FAS is most often caused by damage to the brain caused by a stroke or traumatic brain injury.This disorder is also known as Pseudo-Accent and it was first seen in 1940.Foreign accent syndrome is diagnosed more in females as compared to males.This disorder is mainly seen in age range of about 25-49 years.Foreign accent syndrome is a medical condition in which patients develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent that is different from their native accent.It may also affect the psychological behaviour of patient.The main mechanism of this disease is still not known.This topic is discussed in the context of a brief review of the syndrome.The diagnosis of FAS is blood tests, to test for infections and some illnesses.Many causes of foreign accent syndrome are not curable, though medication can help manage the symptoms.Here we know about the