Backward speech

The trait of backward speech is described as an ability to spontaneously and accurately reverse words. Two strategies of word reversal were reported: reversal according to the phonetic structure of the words or reversal according to their spelling.^[1] In the 1980s Nelson Cowan hypothesized that this ability is afforded by an extraordinary working memory.^[2] Recent studies have provided evidence that the working memory is indeed involved in this ability and further suggested that genetic factors may contribute to this trait.^[1]

Some cases

• Patients of Nelson Cowan.^[2]
• Italian-speaking patient that gained the ability to speak backwards after neurosurgery.^[3]
• A patient that could talk backward after a head injury which resulted in conversion disorder.^[4]
• Serbian family with the ability to speak backwards voluntarily.^[1]