Pseudobulbar affect
| Pseudobulbar affect | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Emotional incontinence |
| Specialty | Neurology, psychiatry |
| Symptoms | Episodes of uncontrollable laughing, crying, or other emotional displays that may not match the patient's mental state |
| Duration | Few to several minutes |
| Causes | Traumatic brain injury, ALS, MS, dementia, etc. |
| Risk factors | Traumatic brain injury, ALS, MS, dementia, etc. |
| Diagnostic method | During a neurological evaluation |
| Differential diagnosis | Depression |
Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), or emotional incontinence, is a type of affect disorder connected to neurological conditions. It is characterized by brief, intense, uncontrollable episodes of crying or laughing. The affect is triggered by emotionally trivial or neutral stimuli that are not necessarily related to the emotional state.[1]
PBA is a consequence of another neurologic disorder or brain injury. Patients may find themselves crying uncontrollably at something that is only slightly sad, being unable to stop themselves for several minutes. Episodes may also be mood-incongruent: a patient may laugh uncontrollably when angry or frustrated, for example.[2] Sometimes, the episodes may switch between emotional states, resulting in the patient crying uncontrollably before dissolving into fits of laughter.
PBA is a severe disruption of momentary emotional expression rather than the persistent, excessive, and pervasive disturbances characteristic of mood disorders.[1] Thus, it is to be distinguished from emotional lability as it occurs with depression.[3] PBA, emotional lability, and irritability are subsumed under the term emotional dyscontrol.[3]
- ^ a b Arciniegas, David B.; Wortzel, Hal S. (2014-03-01). "Emotional and Behavioral Dyscontrol After Traumatic Brain Injury". Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Neuropsychiatry of Traumatic Brain Injury. 37 (1): 31–53. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2013.12.001. ISSN 0193-953X.
- ^ Ramirez-Bermudez, Jesús; Perez-Esparza, Rodrigo; Flores, Jose; Leon-Ortiz, Pablo; Corona, Teresa; Restrepo-Martínez, Miguel (2022-04-01). "Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder in a Patient With Toluene Leukoencephalopathy". Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría. 51 (2): 163–166. doi:10.1016/j.rcp.2020.10.001. ISSN 0034-7450. PMID 33735011. S2CID 230547846.
- ^ a b McGarity, Suzanne; Dieujuste, Nathalie; Brenner, Lisa A.; Wortzel, Hal S. (2019), "Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of Traumatic Brain Injury", Rehabilitation After Traumatic Brain Injury, Elsevier, pp. 123–132, doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-54456-6.00010-4, ISBN 978-0-323-54456-6, retrieved 2025-03-22