Akinetic Mutism
- First described by Cairns et al. (1941)
- Patient tend not to move (akinetic) or speak (mute)
- Show Apathy
- Their eyes usually fixate on and follow objects
- They usually do respond to repeated auditory commands
- Their level of alertness otherwise is normal (although can have hypersomnolence)
- The symptoms are rather experienced as a lack of will to do anything
- If they ‘will’ to do something and opposing ‘will’ develops to counteract it
- It is one of the diagnostic criteria for creutzfeldt-jakob disease
- Two anatomical types of Akinetic Mutism (AM) are described:
- Apathetic AM (also known as Mesencephalic AM)
- Hyperpathic AM (also known as Frontal AM)
Reference and Resources:
Lishman’s Organic Psychiatry Fourth Edition
Otto A, Zerr I, Lantsch M, et al Akinetic mutism as a classification criterion for the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 1998;64:524-528.
Medscape, Wikipedia
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