Progressive amusia and aprosody
C. Confavreux, B. Croisile, P. Garassus, G. Aimard and M. Trillet
Neurology Clinic, Hopital Neurologique, Lyon, France.
We report a case of slowly progressive amusia and aprosody in association
with orofacial and eyelid apraxias. The patient was independent in daily
living activities. Insight, judgment, and behavior were intact. Her
language was normal, and she demonstrated no limb, dressing, or
constructional apraxia. She had no prosopagnosia, no visuospatial
disturbances, and no memory impairment. Imaging studies (computed
tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, single photon emission computed
tomography) indicated a selective disorder of the right frontal and
temporal regions. Review of the literature shows an increasing number of
reports of this degenerative syndrome affecting the left dominant
hemisphere and language areas, whereas cases of the syndrome affecting the
right hemisphere are rare. To our knowledge, this is the first case in
which aprosody and amusia were associated with a focal cortical
degeneration.
