Bradypsychia and music

After the surgery, it seemed that Juan had been given the brain of a turtle. When his state of consciousness improved, his thought was slow (bradypsychia), and he spoke very low and very slowly (bradylalia) too. It seemed as if I was watching Juan in slow-motion.

Bradypsiquia is a very common symptom of a brain injury. The different thought processes (understanding information, generating thought, and initiating responses) slowed down. In Juan’s case, I noticed that he seemed to immediately understand what I told him, but he spent a lot of time thinking how to reply. His replies were also slow (bradylalia).

Bradypsiquia’s causes can be varied. For example, bradypsiquia can be caused by a damage in connections between the brain cortex and other brain structures. In Juan’s case, the surgery had destroyed a part of the right frontal cortex.

However, I noticed that when I played music in his headphones, his responses were significantly faster. I didn’t find any evidence of this in literature, but it indeed seemed to work with Juan.