Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Pseudobulbar signs
HP:0002200
What it means
Pseudobulbar signs result from injury to an upper motor neuron lesion to the corticobulbar pathways in the pyramidal tract. Patients have difficulty chewing, swallowing and demonstrate slurred speech (often initial presentation) as well as abnormal behavioral symptoms such as inappropriate emotional outbursts of uncontrolled laughter or weeping etc.
Rare diseases that can present with this10
Common30–79%
4Sometimes5–29%
3The 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, and Orphanet separately records 1 disease where this sign is specifically absent. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Pseudobulbar symptoms
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.