Dysarthria is a speech disturbance that often occurs following brain damage. The characteristics of dysarthria, however, differ according to the location of the lesion. Hypokinetic dysarthria and palilalia are closely associated with basal ganglionic dysfunction, which is common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this report, we present a patient who showed these speech problems after left midbrain infarction. The speech disturbance observed in this patient may be caused by the same underlying mechanism as occurs in PD.

CASE REPORT

A 55-year-old diabetic, right-handed woman was admitted to the Asan Medical Centre after suddenly developing diplopia. She was a homemaker with 9 years of education. She had no history of stroke or other brain injury. On neurological examination, she showed left third nerve palsy sparing the pupil, clumsiness in the right arm and slight gait instability. Prominent dysarthria was noted. Muscle strength and sensory perception were normal in the extremities as well as in the face. Although there was slight ataxia in the right extremities, she was able to walk without difficulty. Her facial expressions were normal, and there was no …