INCOMPLETE SPLIT-BRAIN SYNDROME IN A PATIENT WITH CHRONIC MARCHIAFAVA-BIGNAMI DISEASE

A 40-year-old male patient is presented who survived Marchiafava-Bigna mi disease and recovered sufficiently to be assessed neurologically an d neuropsychologically in some detail. Besides dementia, lack of initi ative, and psychomotor retardation here ascribed to extracallosal dama ge, he showed a number of symptoms of hemispheric disconnection such a s left-sided apraxia, poor bimanual coordination in specific laborator y tests, and deficits in the interhemispheric transfer of somaesthetic information. Other commissural functions, such as interhemispheric tr ansfer of tactile, visual and auditory information as well as bilatera l coordination in previously overlearned tasks, were nearly intact. Th e observed dysarthria could be meaningfully discussed in relationship to postcallosotomy mutism. It is concluded, that the partial interhemi spheric disconnection syndrome in Marchiafava-Bignami disease lacks fu nctional compensation which is different from the usual course in part ial commissural section.