SEVERE FRONTAL SYNDROME-ASSOCIATED WITH INFARCTS OF THE LEFT ANTERIORCINGULATE GYRUS AND THE HEAD OF THE RIGHT CAUDATE-NUCLEUS - A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CASE

The clinicopathological findings in a patient who presented a severe f rontal syndrome and who had ischaemic lesions in the left anterior cin gulate gyrus and in the head of the right caudate nucleus are reported . The clinical features included complex disorders such as distractibi lity, docility, emotional unconcern, manual grasping, prehension and u tilization behaviour, perseverations and anterograde amnesia. They are closely similar to those previously described in a patient with bilat eral lesions involving the anterior cyngulate gyri. These findings sug gest that (i) in the presence of a lesion of the anterior cingulate gy rus on one side, a lesion of the head of the contralateral caudate nuc leus may be equivalent to a lesion of the anterior cingulate gyrus, th e anterior cingulate of frontal lobe functions; (iii) they are necessa ry for sustained goal-oriented responses to (emotionally or not) discr iminated stimuli.