Hypersexuality following bilateral thalamic infarction: case report.
Hypersexuality is a rare but well recognized condition following brain injury. It has been described secondarily to dysfunction in the hypothalamus, the temporal and frontal lobes. We report a 63 year-old man that developed neuropsychological disturbances with hypersexuality as a prominent feature, disinhibition and moderate memory loss, hypersomnia and irritability after a bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction. A SPECT showed frontal hypoperfusion. We believe that these findings are expression of frontal-subcortical circuits dysfunction, particularly the orbitofrontal circuit, secondary to dorso medial thalamic infarction which probably plays a role in the determination of human sexual behavior. This case favors a thalamic modulation of frontal function.
Mutarelli
Eduardo G
EG
Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. mutarell@uol.com.br
Omuro
Antonio M P
AM
Adoni
Tarso
T
D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005625:Frontal Lobe; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology*; D013786:Thalamic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D013788:Thalamus / Q000098:blood supply*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon