Word deafness as a cortical auditory processing deficit: a case report with MEG.
Pure word deafness is a rare disorder dramatically impairing comprehension of spoken language, while auditory functions remain relatively intact. We present a 71-year-old woman with a slowly progressive disturbance of speech perception due to pure word deafness. MRI revealed degeneration of the temporal lobes. A magnetoencephalographic investigation using alternating single tone stimulation showed that N100 was followed by a second transient response and was abnormally prolonged up to 600-700 ms. We conclude that auditory processing is disturbed at long latency ranges following the N100, which may result in the clinical presentation of pure word deafness.
Jörgens
Silke
S
Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Düsseldorf, Germany. joergesi@uni-duesseldorf.de
Biermann-Ruben
Katja
K
Kurz
Martin W
MW
Flügel
Claudia
C
Daehli Kurz
Kathinka
K
Antke
Christina
C
Hartung
Hans-Peter
HP
Seitz
Rudiger J
RJ
Schnitzler
Alfons
A