22 key words from the article (reference)
a distinctive way of pronouncing words, typically associated with a country, area, or social class
"Imagine waking up one morning and speaking with a completely different accent, and no matter how hard you try, you can't speak with your usual voice."
in the process of doing something; partway through
"Susan went shopping with her Aunt and in the middle of a sentence her accent suddenly changed."
behaving in a joking or not serious way
"Her Aunt thought she was playing around but soon realized that Susan wasn't joking."
a group of symptoms that together are characteristic of a particular medical condition
"The worse part of this syndrome for these young women is that the people around them think the two women are just trying to get attention."
to cause other people to notice or pay attention to someone
"The people around them think the two women are just trying to get attention."
very unpleasant or bad
"It's very hurtful when the people around you don't understand how real, and awful, this problem is, said May."
a doctor who specializes in disorders of the nervous system, including the brain
"They took them to see Dr. Samuel Parch, a neurologist and brain surgeon."
a doctor who performs operations
"They took them to see Dr. Samuel Parch, a neurologist and brain surgeon."
a medical condition that disrupts normal physical or mental functions
"FAS is a speech disorder."
a particular state of health or a medical problem
"Although it's extremely rare, it's a real condition."
identified as having a particular illness or medical condition through examination
"Only about 100 people have been diagnosed with this condition since the first known case in 1907."
a confusing or difficult problem or question
"It's a bit of a conundrum, says Dr. Parch."
deeply distressing or disturbing, especially involving physical injury
"Neither of them have had a traumatic head injury or brain surgery."
medical treatment involving cutting into the body to repair or remove something
"Neither of them have had a traumatic head injury or brain surgery."
medical brain scans used to look for damage or abnormalities
"Nothing unusual shows up in the traditional MRT scans."
helped to cause or bring about a result
"There were some changes to both of them that may have contributed to their syndrome."
experienced or been subjected to something, especially something difficult or unpleasant
"In the one case, May had recently undergone a minor procedure called a tonsillectomy."
a medical operation or treatment
"In the one case, May had recently undergone a minor procedure called a tonsillectomy."
severe, recurring headaches, often accompanied by nausea or sensitivity to light
"In the second case, Susan suffers from chronic migraines (frequent and serious headaches)."
nerve cells that transmit signals in the brain and nervous system
"What he discovered was that the neurons in the language centers of the brain were firing abnormally."
in a way that is different from what is usual or expected
"What he discovered was that the neurons in the language centers of the brain were firing abnormally."
weakens or damages the ability to function normally
"This condition impairs their ability to control the muscles used to produce speech."