Frontal lobe dysfunction following infarction of the left-sided medial thalamus.
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.
Sandson
T A
TA
Behavioral Neurology Unit, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.
Daffner
K R
KR
Carvalho
P A
PA
Mesulam
M M
MM
D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D013786:Thalamic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed