Thalamic amnesia following venous infarction: evidence from a single case study

Brain Cogn. 1997 Apr;33(3):278-94. doi: 10.1006/brcg.1997.0868.

Abstract

The present paper describes the case of a right-handed Italian-English bilingual male patient suffering from amnesia following a bilateral thalamic lesion due to venous infarction. Within a few months from the onset, the lesion gradually shrank and was finally confined to the left thalamus only, in particular to the antero-medial portion and the pulvinar. The mammillary bodies and the cortical areas of both hemispheres were spared. After the regression of a series of generalized cognitive deficits implying slow psychic activity confusion, and spatial and temporal disorientation, the patient presented a persistent amnesic syndrome with mild language disorders, both in Italian and in English. Major disorders of memory included a dissociation between verbal memory, which was severely impaired, and spatial memory, which was largely preserved.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Brain Ischemia / complications
  • Brain Ischemia / diagnosis
  • Brain Ischemia / physiopathology*
  • Embolization, Therapeutic
  • Fistula / complications
  • Fistula / surgery
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Memory Disorders / diagnosis
  • Memory Disorders / etiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Psychometrics
  • Thalamus / physiopathology*