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Hypersexuality and dysexecutive syndrome after a thalamic infarct.

Spinella M

Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona 08240-0195, USA. rnarcello.spinel1a@stockton.edu

Hypersexuality can result from insults to several neuroanatomical structures that regulate sexual behavior. A case is presented of an adult male with a thalamic infarct resulting in a paramedian thalamic syndrome, consisting of hypersomnolence, confabulatory anterograde amnesia (including reduplicative paramnesia), vertical gaze deficits, and hypophonic speech. A dysexecutive syndrome also manifested, consisting of social disinhibition, apathy, witzelsucht, motor inhibition deficits, and environmental dependence. Hypersexuality uncharacteristic of his premorbid behavior was evident in instances of exhibitionism, public masturbation, and verbal sexual obscenities. In contrast to the few previous reports of hypersexuality following thalamic infarct, this case neither involved mania nor hemichorea. The relevance of the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus in limbic and prefrontal circuits is discussed.

Published 29 October 2004 in Int J Neurosci, 114(12): 1581-90.
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