Thalamic amnesia after infarct: The role of the mammillothalamic tract and mediodorsal nucleus.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To improve current understanding of the mechanisms behind thalamic amnesia, as it is unclear whether it is directly related to damage to specific nuclei, in particular to the anterior or mediodorsal nuclei, or indirectly related to lesions of the mammillothalamic tract (MTT).

Methods

We recruited 12 patients with a left thalamic infarction and 25 healthy matched controls. All underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment of verbal and visual memory, executive functions, language, and affect, and a high-resolution structural volumetric MRI scan. Thalamic lesions were manually segmented and automatically localized with a computerized thalamic atlas. As well as comparing patients with controls, we divided patients into subgroups with intact or damaged MTT.

SUBMITTER: Danet L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4691690 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature