The effects of prefrontal leucotomy on visuoperceptive and visuoconstructive tests

Visuoperceptive and visuoconstructive tests were administered to three groups of schizophrenics who had undergone bilateral prefrontal leucotomy approximately 25 years earlier. A nonoperated schizophrenic patient group and a normal subject group served as controls for the effects of schizophrenic symptomatology and for age and education. The results demonstrated that orbital frontal white matter lesions do not disturb simple perceptions and constructions. The nonoperated schizophrenics had significant problems on many of the tests. Only one test, the WAIS Picture Arrangement, revealed deficits in all patient groups, including the good recovery leucotomized patients. This suggests impairment in the higher-order control and organization of perceptual material which may be secondary to orbital frontal white matter lesions or reflect aspects of the underlying schizophrenic disorder.