title: Somatosensory and skin temperature disturbances caused by infarction of the postcentral gyrus: a case report.
abstract: Somatosensory functions are subdivided into 2 large groups: the elementary somatosensory functions, which consist of light touch, pain, thermal sensation, joint position sense, and vibration sense, and the intermediate somatosensory functions, which include 2-point discrimination, tactile localization, weight, texture, and shape perception. In this report, we describe a patient with somatosensory dysfunction after infarction of the postcentral gyrus. On physical examination a month after the onset of the infarction, voluntary movements were skillful, and both the elementary and intermediate somatosensory functions were disturbed in the right hand. The patient also displayed a decrease in the skin temperature of the right hand. The sensory-evoked potential in response to electrical stimulation of the right median nerve was normal, and brain MRI showed that the infarction was located in the posterior half of the left postcentral gyrus. These findings suggested that the lesion was situated at areas 1 and 2, and that area 3b was preserved. Thermography revealed that the skin temperature of the right hand was decreased predominantly on the ulnar side, and that recovery from cooling with ice water was delayed. By comparing the results of our patient with a case report that showed no disturbance of the elementary somatosensory functions with a localized lesion in the postcentral gyrus, we suggest that area 1 participates in the elementary somatosensory functions and that skin temperature may be controlled somatotopically in the somatosensory cortex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Mie University, School of Medicine, 2-174 Edobashi, Tsu Mie 514-8507, Japan. bruckner@clin.medic.mie-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Terada
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Onouchi
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuzuhara
mesh_terms: D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000209:etiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation; D012881:Skin Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013817:Thermography