Characterization of recovery and neuropsychological consequences of orbitofrontal lesion: A case study

Abstract

We present a case study of a patient with acquired prefrontal lesion involving mainly ventromedial and orbital structures (VM-PFD). The patient showed behavioral and emotional disturbances one year after the injury. In a follow-up examination seven years later, we evaluated her performance in tasks found theoretically to be sensitive to orbital and medial lesions. In contrast to our hypothesis, her performance was in the normal range. We suggest that a possible explanation for her magnificent recovery may include a high cognitive reserve and the specific characteristics of her injury.

Keywords:

• Prefrontal damage
• Behavioral and emotional disturbances
• Neuropsychology
• Case study
• Neuropsychological evaluation

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Sarah Dichter and Shoshana Yaniv for reviewing the manuscript and for contributing to its final version.