A case of hysterical aphasia

Hysterical aphasia or, as it is more often called, hysterical dumbness, is a relatively uncommon symptom of speech disorders in hysteria. For the first time, he was described by Charcot, who indicated the characteristic signs of hysterical dullness, distinguishing it from aphasia of organic origin: patients cannot pronounce a single word, not a single sound, although they correctly perform various movements with their tongues and lips; they are quite vividly explained by facial expressions, gestures; neither agraphia nor alexia is observed at the same time, there is also no verbal deafness; the intellectuals of the sick are not disturbed at all. Further observations in this direction have shown, however, that in some cases, hysterical dullness is accompanied by both agraphia and verbal dullness and deafness. Such cases were described by Charcot (right-sided hemiplegia and complete misery with agraphia, Cartaz, Mendel, Lemoine). In Russian literature, cases of hysterical mutilation were described by Davydov and B.I. Vorotynsky.