Affiliations: Department of Psychology, Chuo University Faculty of Letters, Tokyo, Japan | Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Note: [] Corresponding author: Akira Midorikawa, Department of
Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Chuo University, 742-1, Higashi-Nakano,
Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0393, Japan. Tel./Fax: +81 426 74 3742; E-mail: green@tamacc.chuo-u.ac.jp
Abstract: Some patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) have
shown the development of painting or musical abilities after the onset of the
disease. In this report, we present another emergent ability. A female patient
with FTLD showing dense atrophy of the bilateral anterior lobes and a loss of
voluntary activity in aspects of daily living, presented with the
characteristic behaviours when given a paper and a pair of scissors. When a
shape was already drawn on the paper, she showed reasonable skills with the
scissors, cutting without any hesitation. When she cut a blank piece of paper,
she showed quite unique geometrical preferences. Her severely degenerated brain
combined with her geometrical abilities suggests that the human brain is
naturally affected by geometrical homogeneity.
