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Cerebral blood flow in thalamic aphasia
A M Fasanaro1, D L Spitaleri, R Valiani
1Divisione di Neurologia, Ospedale A. Cardarelli, Napoli, Italy.
Journal of Neurology
|August 1, 1987
Summary
A patient experienced aphasia following left thalamic infarction. This thalamic aphasia was linked to reduced regional cerebral blood flow in the left parietotemporal cortex.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Thalamic lesions are infrequently associated with aphasia.
- Understanding the neural correlates of subcortical aphasia is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
Observation:
- A 59-year-old male presented with fluent aphasia characterized by impaired comprehension and verbal paraphasias, but preserved repetition, after a left thalamic infarction confirmed by CT scan.
- Speech exhibited reduced volume.
- Repetition skills remained intact.
Findings:
- Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) revealed reduced regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the left parietotemporal regions.
- This pattern suggests a functional cortical deficit secondary to subcortical damage.
Implications:
- Thalamic aphasia may arise from subcortical structural damage leading to homolateral functional cortical deficits.
- This case highlights the complex relationship between subcortical structures and language processing.
- Further research into thalamic aphasia can refine our understanding of brain-language networks.