Klüver & Bucy syndrome: an investigation of social and affective cognition

ABSTRACT

Klüver-Bucy syndrome (KBS) leads to important behavioral symptoms and social maladaptation. Rarely described, no previous study has investigated its social and affective cognitive profile. We report the case of ASP, a patient who developed a complete KBS at 9 years that evolved into an incomplete KBS. Orbitofrontal and temporal damages were evidenced. While a classic neuropsychological assessment showed a preserved global functioning, an extensive evaluation of her social and affective cognition (reversal learning, decision-making, emotion recognition, theory of mind, creative thinking) showed remarkable deficits. The relevancy of such findings for the characterization KBS and the field of neuropsychology are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Klüver-Bucy syndrome
• social cognition
• decision-making
• reversal learning

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Dr. Nathalie Guyader for the programming and interpretation of the Bubbles test and to ASP’s mother. We also thank Pr. Jean Luc Truelle.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.