Disconnection syndrome is a general term for a collection of neurological symptoms caused – via lesions to associational or commissural nerve fibres – by damage to the white matter axons of communication pathways in the cerebrum (not to be confused with the cerebellum), independent of any lesions to the cortex.[1] The behavioral effects of such disconnections are relatively predictable in adults.[2] Disconnection syndromes usually reflect circumstances where regions A and B still have their functional specializations except in domains that depend on the interconnections between the two regions.[3]
Callosal syndrome, or split-brain, is an example of a disconnection syndrome from damage to the corpus callosum between the two hemispheres of the brain. Disconnection syndrome can also lead to aphasia, left-sided apraxia, and tactile aphasia, among other symptoms. Other types of disconnection syndrome include conduction aphasia (lesion of the association tract connecting Broca’s area and Wernicke’s), agnosia, apraxia, pure alexia, etc.[4]
- ^ David Myland Kaufman (2007). Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 171–. ISBN 978-1-4160-3074-4. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ Otfried Spreen; Anthony H. Risser; Dorothy Edgell (1995). Developmental Neuropsychology. Oxford University Press. pp. 156–. ISBN 978-0-19-506737-8. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ Catani, Marco; Mesulam, Marsel (2008-09-01). "What is a disconnection syndrome?". Cortex. Special Issue on "Brain Hodology - Revisiting disconnection approaches to disorders of cognitive function". 44 (8): 911–913. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2008.05.001. PMID 18603236. S2CID 41220337.
- ^ Catani, Marco (2005). "The rises and falls of disconnection syndromes". Brain. 128 (Pt 10): 2224–2239. doi:10.1093/brain/awh622. PMID 16141282.