Abulia

In neurology, abulia, or aboulia (from βουλή, meaning "will"), refers to a lack of will or initiative and can be seen as a disorder of diminished motivation (DDM). Abulia falls in the middle of the spectrum of diminished motivation, with apathy being less extreme and akinetic mutism being more extreme than abulia. The condition was originally considered to be a disorder of the will, and aboulic individuals are unable to act or make decisions independently; and their condition may range in severity from subtle to overwhelming. In the case of akinetic mutism, many patients describe that as soon as they "will" or attempt a movement, a "counter-will" or "resistance" rises up to meet them. The clinical condition denoted abulia was first described in 1838; however, since that time, a number of different, some contradictory, definitions have emerged. Abulia has been described as a loss of drive, expression, behavior and speech output, with slowing and prolonged speech latency, and reduction of spontaneous thought content and initiative, being considered more recently as 'a reduction in action emotion and cognition'. The clinical features most commonly associated with abulia are: Difficulty in initiating and sustaining purposeful movements Lack of spontaneous movement Reduced spontaneous speech Increased response-time to queries Passivity Reduced emotional responsiveness and spontaneity Reduced social interactions Reduced interest in usual pastimes Especially in patients with progressive dementia, it may affect feeding. Patients may continue to chew or hold food in their mouths for hours without swallowing it. The behavior may be most evident after these patients have eaten part of their meals and no longer have strong appetites. Both neurologists and psychiatrists recognize abulia to be a distinct clinical entity, but its status as a syndrome is unclear. Although abulia has been known to clinicians since 1838, it has been subjected to different interpretations – from 'a pure lack of will', in the absence of motor paralysis to, more recently, being considered 'a reduction in action emotion and cognition'.