Frontal Lobe Syndrome and Its Forensic Psychiatric Aspects

Abstract

Frontal lobe syndrome is a clinical entity leading to personality change that is often seen as a result of a traumatic or neoplastic frontal lobe injury. If the lesion is orbitomedially located, the clinic presents in the spectrum of amnesia confabulation, disinhib-ited personality changes, joking tendency, puerility, sexual disinhibition, aggression and violence. In dorsolateral lesions clinic of apathy, instability and poor executive abilities can be seen.Frontal lobe syndrome is mostly caused by traumas and neoplasia; other causes are cerebrovascular events, neurodegenerative diseases, central nervous system infections and and many other diseases. Frontal lobe syndrome is remarkable by the dramatical changes in the personality of the patient and these cases may be subject to forensic medical evaluation in various cases, mostly traumatic origin. In the reports evaluating these cases, anatomical and psychiatric components of the clinic should be examined in detail and expert opinion should be presented by reviewing whole case file

Keywords

• frontal lobe syndrome
• forensic medicine