Definition
Ecolalia is a psychiatric symptom that consists in the mechanical and stereotyped repetition of words or phrases pronounced by other people or by the subject itself ( autoecolalia ).
From a pathological point of view, the repetition of verbal expressions is observed mainly in schizophrenia, autism and Tourette syndrome.
In these contexts, echolalia can be an immediate or postponed reaction with respect to a stimulus, therefore the repetition of words by patients can take place after a certain period of time from listening. When the echolalia occurs unintentionally it is considered a vocal tic.
Ecolalia is common in children who are learning to speak (imitation learning), but this manifestation can be emphasized in the presence of blindness and other developmental disorders.
Ecolalia can also be found in cases of dementia, catatonia, epilepsy, closed head injury and cerebral infarction (stroke).
In transcortical sensory aphasia, the repetition of words is a common symptom and typically the patient incorporates the words or phrases of another person in his answer.
Other disorders associated with echolalia are neurodegenerative diseases, such as Pick's disease, cortico-basal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy.
Possible Causes * of Ecolalia
- Autism
- Vascular dementia
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Cerebral hemorrhage
- Wernicke's encephalopathy
- Stroke
- Cerebral ischemia
- Huntington's disease
- Alzheimer's disease
- Parkinson's disease
- Schizophrenia
- Asperger syndrome
- Tourette syndrome
