Akinetic mutism

What it means

The combined absence of spontaneous movement (akinesia) and speech (mutism). There may be eye movements consistent with visual tracking and the person may remember the events occurring at the time of the experience of stupor.

Akinetic mutism is essentially characterized by a total absence of spontaneous behavior and speech occurring in the presence of preserved visual tracking.

Rare diseases that can present with this5

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Stuporous mutism