pathoscribe

Written by Shaurya Gulani | Art by Anoushka Pandya 

Imagine waking up one day and speaking in a voice that is not yours. This may sound like a scenario from a movie, but those living with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) have to live with this reality. 

FAS is a brain-related condition that affects your ability to make sounds correctly. The word “accent,” however, can be misleading. It is not an accent change at all, but a legitimate medical condition. Those with FAS have sudden shifts and changes in the way they talk as if they are trying to employ an accent. FAS may be an indication that there is an issue disrupting one’s brain function. 

There are two main types of FAS. Structural FAS occurs when there has been damage to areas of the brain that regulate the motor control of muscles to produce speech. The second type, functional,  occurs when there is no direct brain structure cause. In some cases, functional FAS is linked to mental health conditions, seizures, or migraines. Some people fall into a subtype, mixed, where their FAS results from functional and structural issues. 

FAS is extremely rare: there have only been about a hundred confirmed cases since 1907. In general, the main symptoms of FAS include talking changes in speed, pitch, tone, articulation, volume, inflections; slurring of speech, and more. In cases specific to structural FAS, tremors, trouble choosing words, and paralysis are common symptoms. The symptoms of functional FAS include psychosis, social intuition, and more. 

Some common causes include those in which damage has occurred to the frontal lobe. Brain cancer, strokes, brain aneurysms, and MS (multiple sclerosis) are some examples. Researchers state that there are no specific genetic risk factors for developing FAS. Therefore, prevention would simply consist of protecting our brains, like wearing protective equipment for our heads. 

Works Cited:

“Foreign Accent Syndrome – a Known Condition That Only Sounds Unfamiliar.” Cleveland Clinic, 1 May 2024, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25242-foreign-accent-syndrome-fas.