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 not necessarily relate to the emotional state.
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. 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. Thus, it is to be distinguished from emotional lability as it occurs with depression. PBA, emotional lability, and irritability are subsumed under the term emotional dyscontrol.