title: Frontal lobe dysfunction following infarction of the left-sided medial thalamus.
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.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neurology Unit, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Sandson
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Daffner
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mesulam
mesh_terms: 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