[Residual deficit of verbal recall after a left internal cerebral vein infarct]

A case of unilateral infarct in the territory of the left internal cerebral vein, severely disturbing cognitive processes, and more especially recall in verbal memory, is reported. This 22-year-old patient survived a left thalamic and striato-capsular infarct related to a straight sinus and left internal cerebral vein thrombosis. Motor and functional recovery was fair, despite late dystonia. At the secondary phase post-stroke, cognitive disorders were severe, including increased short-term forgetting and episodic (anterograde and retrograde) and semantic amnesia. One year later, a residual deficit of verbal recall was observed, which participated in the anterograde and retrograde amnesia. Recognition was well preserved. This case showed that: (1) internal cerebral vein thrombosis can have severe consequences on cognition and memory, and that late prognosis is not as fair as has been previously reported in selected patients, and (2) left diencephalic structures are specifically associated with recollection of verbal information from long-term memory.