Neuropsychological sequelae of a pituitary germinoma: A case study

We report the case of a right-handed adolescent male with a history of a pi tuitary germinoma, Developmental history was reportedly unremarkable and a conservative estimate of the level of cognitive function before his illness , based on reported academic performance, places this individual in the low average range of intellectual ability, Subsequent resection of the tumor r esulted in a lesion in the right mesial basal orbitofrontal region involvin g the tuber cinereum, lamina terminalis, gyrus rectus, olfactory gyrus and diagonal band of Broca, Initial evaluation revealed profoundly impaired mem ory for both verbal and visual-spatial information, Follow-up evaluations a t 4, 24 and 42 months further substantiated profound impairments in memory for both verbal and visual-spatial information, as well as behavioral probl ems involving emotional lability and disinhibition. Given the location of t his lesion, it is suggested that this patient's profound deficits in memory are due to disruption of both the Papez circuit and the lateral limbic cir cuit, which are known to be involved in the memory system.