{{Infobox medical condition (new) | name = Scanning speech | synonyms = '''Explosive speech''' | image = | caption = | pronounce = | field = neurology | symptoms = | complications = | onset = | duration = | types = | causes = | risks = | diagnosis = | differential = | prevention = | treatment = | medication = | prognosis = | frequency = | deaths = }} '''Scanning speech''' is a type of ataxic dysarthria in which spoken words are broken up into separate syllables, often separated by a noticeable pause, and spoken with varying force.<ref name="crash">{{cite book|last=Horton-Szar|first=Dan|title=Crash Course Neurology|year=2009|publisher=Elsevier Limited|isbn=978-0-7234-3469-6}}</ref> The sentence "Walking is good exercise", for example, might be pronounced as "Walk (pause) ing is good ex (pause) er (pause) cise". Additionally, stress may be placed on unusual syllables.
The name is derived from literary scansion, because the speech pattern separates the syllables in a phrase much like scanning a poem counts the syllables in a line of poetry.<ref name=Anthoney>{{cite book|author=Terence R. Anthoney|title=Neuroanatomy and the neurologic exam: a thesaurus of synonyms, similar-sounding non-synonyms, and terms of variable meaning|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton|year=1994|pages=482–483|isbn=978-0-8493-8631-2}}</ref>
There is no universal agreement about the exact definition of this term.<ref name=Anthoney /> Some sources require only a noticeable pause between syllables, while others require other speech abnormalities, such as the unusual stress pattern on syllables. Some sources consider it a common, but not necessary, feature of ataxic dysarthria; others consider it exactly synonymous with ataxic dysarthria.<ref name=Anthoney />
==Cause==
Scanning speech, like other ataxic dysarthrias, is a symptom of lesions in the cerebellum.<ref name="crash" /> It is a typical symptom of multiple sclerosis,<ref name="about">{{cite web|last=Stachowiak|first=Julie|title=Scanning Speech|url=http://ms.about.com/od/signssymptoms/g/scanning_speech.htm|publisher=ms.about.com|access-date=2012-01-04|archive-date=2015-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906203659/http://ms.about.com/od/signssymptoms/g/scanning_speech.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and it constitutes one of the three symptoms of Charcot's neurologic triad.<ref>{{cite web|title=Charcot's triad I|url=http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/25.html|publisher=whonamedit.com|access-date=2012-01-04}}</ref>
Scanning speech may be accompanied by other symptoms of cerebellar damage, such as gait, truncal and limb ataxia, intention tremor, inaccuracies in rapidly repeated movements and sudden, abrupt nausea and vomiting. The handwriting of such patients may also be abnormally large.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thomas|first=Huw|title=Cerbellar Signs including Cerebellar Ataxia|url=http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Cerebellar-Ataxia.htm|access-date=2012-01-04}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} == External links == {{Medical resources | DiseasesDB = | ICD10 = {{ICD10|R|47|1|r|47}} | ICD9 = | ICDO = | OMIM = | MedlinePlus = | eMedicineSubj = | eMedicineTopic = | MeshID = D004401 }}
Category:Neurological disorders Category:Communication disorders Category:Symptoms and signs: Speech and voice