Vascular Cognitive and Behavioral Disorders

Clinicopathological correlation of autopsy findings in patients with ischemic stroke who have cognitive and behavioral disorders was the original basis for localization of cognitive function to various parts of the brain. Newer imaging technology, such as brain magnetic resonance imaging studies, has helped confirm and refine many of these early findings, particularly in the case of small deep infarcts. In this chapter, we review a number of interesting syndromes seen by cerebrovascular neurologists and correlate them with infarct location. These include hemineglect, anosognosia, visual anomia, prosopagnosia, and the disconnection syndrome of alexia without agraphia. Finally, we review the effects of small infarcts in the anterior and medial thalamus, and infarcts in the territory of the anterior cerebral artery regions of the frontal lobes.