title: Utilization behavior as a white matter disconnection syndrome.
abstract: We report a case of utilization behavior that was examined neuropathologically. A 72-year-old right-handed male patient, who was admitted with a complaint of transient loss of consciousness, displayed utilization behavior several times. He used daily objects that were placed in front of him, such as a teacup and a toothbrush, without instructions to do so. If the examiner asked the patient not to use the objects, the patient did not use them. MRI revealed acute infarction of the left superior frontal gyrus, where decreased blood flow was revealed by SPECT. The patient died of an acute worsening of dilated cardiomyopathy. Neuropathological examination demonstrated an acute phase infarction of the subcortical white matter of the left superior frontal lobe, which correlated well with neuroradiological findings. Utilization behavior has been thought a "frontal lobe symptom". However, we propose that utilization behavior might be considered a white matter disconnection syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kameda General Hospital. kishi@med.showa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishino
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maki
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murayama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020243:Infarction, Anterior Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012021:Reflex, Abnormal / Q000502:physiology*; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed