Visual hypoemotionality and prosopagnosia associated with right temporal lobe isolation

Emotional hyporeactivity to visual stimuli (so-called visual hypoemotionality) was observed in a 71-yr-old woman following a cerebral infarction in the territory of the posterior cerebral arteries. Other visual disturbances included severe prosopagnosia, dense left hemianopia and mild left hemineglect. There was neither object agnosia nor any involvement of language, memory or intellectual functions. Hypoemotionality was found only for visual stimuli, since auditory and tactile modalities were totally spared, suggesting a visual-limbic disconnection mechanism. From CT data, and referring to previous evidence suggesting a right-hemisphere prevalence for emotional functions, it is postulated that the right occipital lesion, leading to a total right temporal lobe isolation, was mainly responsible for the patient's emotional disturbances.