Subjective cognitive-affective status following thalamic stroke.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Thalamic stroke is known to cause persistent cognitive deficits.
• The subjective impact and everyday relevance of these impairments remain unclear.
• Minor physical changes in patients with thalamic stroke can mask underlying cognitive issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the subjective consequences of focal thalamic lesions.
• To assess memory, attention, executive functions, emotional status, and quality of life in patients post-thalamic stroke.
• To identify lesion-to-symptom correlations within the thalamus.

Main Methods:

• 68 patients with ischemic thalamic stroke completed self-report questionnaires.
• Comparison with 34 age-matched patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA) controlled for cerebrovascular disease.
• Thalamic lesions were mapped using atlas co-registration, overlap, and subtraction analyses.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in self-reported outcomes between the overall thalamic stroke and TIA groups.
• Patients with posterior thalamic infarctions reported significant emotional disturbances and anxiety.
• Comparison of subgroups revealed distinct affective impairments linked to lesion location.

Conclusions:

• Chronic lesions in the posterior thalamus are associated with persistent affective impairment.
• Damage to connections between the medial pulvinar and affective processing regions may cause this syndrome.
• The posterior thalamus plays a significant role in mood regulation.