This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rousseaux, M. Articles by Romon, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rousseaux, M. Articles by Romon, M.

(Stroke. 1996;27:2328-2330.)
© 1996 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Disorders of Smell, Taste, and Food Intake in a Patient With a Dorsomedial Thalamic Infarct

M. Rousseaux, MD, PhD; P. Muller, MD; I. Gahide, MD; Y. Mottin, PhD M. Romon, MD

the Service de Reeducation et Convalescence Neurologiques (M. Rousseaux) and the Service de Nutrition (M. Romon), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Lille; and the Service de Neurologie (P.M., I.G.) and the Service d'Oto-Rhino-Laryngologie (I.G.), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Nice, France.

Correspondence to Dr M. Rousseaux, Service de Reeducation et Convalescence Neurologiques, Hopital Swynghedauw, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, 59037 Lille Cedex, France.

Background We report that a lasting deficit in the hedonic character of olfactory and gustatory perception can be observed in bilateral dorsomedial and intralaminar thalamic lesions.

Case Description A 68-year-old patient abruptly presented with vigilance disorders associated with a reduction of olfactory and gustatory perceptions. A severe drop in appetite for foods and a weight loss of 10 kg were observed, which were partially reversed with time. Two years later, the main persisting disorder was a change in the quality of perceptions: odors and taste were perceived either in a neutral way, their pleasant character having disappeared, or as unpleasant. However, identification was preserved. MRI showed that lesions principally involved the dorsomedial thalamic nuclei and the adjacent part of the intralaminar nuclei.

Conclusions This case suggests that the dorsomedial thalamus may play a role in the hedonic perception of food, thus affecting short-term regulation of food intake, and may possibly have a role in the long-term control of body weight.

Key Words: appetite regulation • cerebral infarction • smell • taste • thalamus

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Sela, Y. Sacher, C. Serfaty, Y. Yeshurun, N. Soroker, and N. Sobel Spared and Impaired Olfactory Abilities after Thalamic Lesions J. Neurosci., September 30, 2009; 29(39): 12059 - 12069. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Plailly, J. D. Howard, D. R. Gitelman, and J. A. Gottfried Attention to Odor Modulates Thalamocortical Connectivity in the Human Brain J. Neurosci., May 14, 2008; 28(20): 5257 - 5267. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B N Landis, I Leuchter, D San Millan Ruiz, J-S Lacroix, and T Landis Transient hemiageusia in cerebrovascular lateral pontine lesions J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, May 1, 2006; 77(5): 680 - 683. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. G. Heckmann, C. Stossel, C. J.G. Lang, B. Neundorfer, B. Tomandl, and T. Hummel Taste Disorders in Acute Stroke: A Prospective Observational Study on Taste Disorders in 102 Stroke Patients Stroke, August 1, 2005; 36(8): 1690 - 1694. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. M Young and C. J Mathias Taste and Smell Disturbance with the {alpha}-Adrenoceptor Agonist Midodrine Ann. Pharmacother., November 1, 2004; 38(11): 1868 - 1870. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Bjornstad, S. H. Goodman, J. I. Sirven, and D. W. Dodick Paroxysmal Sleep as a Presenting Symptom of Bilateral Paramedian Thalamic Infarctions Mayo Clin. Proc., March 1, 2003; 78(3): 347 - 349. [Abstract] [PDF]