Relapsing depression in paramedian thalamic infarctions

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Baumgartner, R.W.^; | Landis, T. | Regard, M.

Affiliations: Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland

Note: [] Correspondence to: R.W. Baumgartner, Department of Neurology, Inselspital Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland

Abstract: Depression has recently been associated with lesions in the CNS, particularly with large infarctions in the cerebral hemispheres. We report a patient in whom two episodes of acute depression were related to relapsing paramedian thalamic infarctions, which were accompanied by additional transient mild neuropsychological deficits, hypersomnia and a discrete sensory disturbance of the left face. Thalamic infarctions have been shown to mimic a variety of higher functional deficits, such as aphasias, apraxias and attentional disorders, traditionally associated with hemispheric strokes. We conjecture that the paramedian thalamic infarctions observed in our patient have in a similar manner been responsible for the transient depression.

Keywords: Depression, Infarction, Stroke, Thalamus

DOI: 10.3233/BEN-1992-5210

Journal: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 129-132, 1992