akinetic mutism
Last reviewed 01/2018
Akinetic mutism is a variety of stupor in which the patient is unable to talk or carry out purposeful behaviour but may lie with eyes open, seemingly unaware of what is going on around him. It results from bilateral damage to the orbital surface of the frontal lobes. The patient appears awake and has normal ocular movement but does not speak, is incontinent, and has minimal motor response to painful stimulation.
It is seen in severe anterior cerebral artery strokes and less frequently, in hydrocephalus.