[A neuropsychological study on a patient with the resection of the right lateral frontal lobe]

We report a patient who underwent a resection of the right lateral frontal lobe after a venous thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus. The patient showed inertia, obsessive-compulsive behavior and disinhibition two weeks after the operation and hyperlogia and hypergraphia four weeks later, all of which disappeared within six weeks. General intelligence, language and memory were consistently preserved, though the scores of the performance IQ and the visual memory were relatively decreased. A few months after the operation emotional and personality change such as impatience and apathy became evident. We suggest that the right lateral prefrontal area is concerned with personality and behavior and that the widespread resection holds general intelligence, language and memory within normal range but relatively decreases non-verbal cognitive function that requires manual responses.