Frontal lobe dysfunction following infarction of the left-sided medial thalamus

Arch Neurol. 1991 Dec;48(12):1300-3. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1991.00530240106031.

Abstract

We treated a 62-year-old woman who developed a dramatic change in personality and behavior following a discrete left-sided medial thalamic infarction involving the dorsomedial nucleus. Neuropsychological testing demonstrated severe impairment of complex executive behaviors that are usually associated with frontal lobe function. Electroencephalography and single-photon emission computed tomography strongly implicated dysfunction of the ipsilateral frontal lobe. This case further supports a functional and physiologic thalamofrontal linkage as part of a broader cerebral network modulating complex human behavior.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Brain Diseases / diagnosis
  • Brain Diseases / etiology*
  • Brain Diseases / psychology
  • Cerebral Infarction / complications*
  • Cerebral Infarction / diagnosis
  • Cerebral Infarction / metabolism
  • Female
  • Frontal Lobe* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Middle Aged
  • Thalamic Diseases / complications*
  • Thalamic Diseases / diagnosis
  • Thalamic Diseases / metabolism
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed