Foix-Chavany-Marie Syndrome

Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome, also known as bilateral opercular syndrome, is a neurological disorder marked by paralysis of the facial, tongue, pharynx, and chewing muscles of the mouth. It is most often caused by thrombotic or embolic strokes that starve the brain of oxygen and produce bilateral lesions at the junctions of the frontal, temporal, parietal, or subcortical regions, though it can also arise from inherited or non-hereditary defects present at birth. It can appear at any age and is diagnosed through automatic-voluntary dissociation assessment, psycholinguistic and neuropsychological testing, and brain scanning, with treatment depending on onset and severity and generally requiring a multidisciplinary approach.