Gerstmann syndrome |
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Principal fissures and lobes of the cerebrum viewed laterally. (Parietal lobe is shown in yellow) |
Classification and external resources |
Specialty |
psychiatry |
ICD-10 |
F81.2 |
ICD-9-CM |
784.69 |
DiseasesDB |
30728 |
MeSH |
D005862 |
[edit on Wikidata]
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Gerstmann syndrome is a neuropsychological disorder that is characterized by a constellation of symptoms that suggests the presence of a lesion in a particular area of the brain. (It should not be confused with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, which is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.) Damage to the inferior parietal lobule of the dominant hemisphere results in Gerstmann's syndrome.
It is named for Josef Gerstmann.[1]
Contents
- 1 Primary symptoms
- 2 Causes
- 2.1 In adults
- 2.2 In children
- 3 Diagnosis
- 4 Treatment
- 5 Prognosis
- 6 References
- 7 Further reading
Primary symptoms
Gerstmann syndrome is characterized by four primary symptoms:
- Dysgraphia/agraphia: deficiency in the ability to write[2][3]
- Dyscalculia/acalculia: difficulty in learning or comprehending mathematics[2][3]
- Finger agnosia: inability to distinguish the fingers on the hand[2][3]
- Left-right disorientation[2][3]
Causes
This disorder is often associated with brain lesions in the dominant (usually left) hemisphere including the angular and supramarginal gyri near the temporal and parietal lobe junction. There is significant debate in the scientific literature as to whether Gerstmann Syndrome truly represents a unified, theoretically motivated syndrome. Thus its diagnostic utility has been questioned by neurologists and neuropsychologists alike. The angular gyrus is generally involved in translating visual patterns of letter and words into meaningful information, such as is done while reading.
In adults
In adults, the syndrome may occur after a stroke or in association with damage to the inferior parietal lobule of the dominant (left) side.[3]
In addition to exhibiting the above symptoms, many adults also experience aphasia, which is a difficulty in expressing oneself when speaking, in understanding speech, or in reading and writing.
In children
There are few reports of the syndrome, sometimes called developmental Gerstmann syndrome, in children.[4] The cause is not known. Most cases are identified when children reach school age, a time when they are challenged with writing and math exercises. Generally, children with the disorder exhibit poor handwriting and spelling skills, and difficulty with math functions, including adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. An inability to differentiate right from left and to discriminate among individual fingers may also be apparent. In addition to the four primary symptoms, many children also suffer from constructional apraxia, an inability to copy simple drawings. Frequently, there is also an impairment in reading. Children with a high level of intellectual functioning as well as those with brain damage may be affected with the disorder.[citation needed]
Diagnosis
Diagnosis may be clinical if associated with dementia and other etiologies. In cases caused by stroke, MRI will show a corresponding stroke in the inferior parietal lobule. In the acute stage, this will be bright (restricted diffusion) on the DWI sequence and dark at the corresponding area on the ADC sequence.
Treatment
There is no cure for Gerstmann syndrome. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive. Occupational and speech therapies may help diminish the dysgraphia and apraxia. In addition, calculators and word processors may help school children cope with the symptoms of the disorder.
Prognosis
In adults, many of the symptoms diminish over time. Although it has been suggested that a similar diminishing of symptoms occurs in children as well, it appears more likely that most do not overcome their deficits, but instead simply learn to adjust.[5]
References
- ^ synd/2267 at Who Named It?
- ^ a b c d Vallar G (July 2007). "Spatial neglect, Balint-Homes' and Gerstmann's syndrome, and other spatial disorders". CNS Spectr. 12 (7): 527–36. PMID 17603404.
- ^ a b c d e Carota A, Di Pietro M, Ptak R, Poglia D, Schnider A (2004). "Defective spatial imagery with pure Gerstmann's syndrome". Eur. Neurol. 52 (1): 1–6. PMID 15218337. doi:10.1159/000079251.
- ^ Miller CJ, Hynd GW (April 2004). "What ever happened to developmental Gerstmann's syndrome? Links to other pediatric, genetic, and neurodevelopmental syndromes". J. Child Neurol. 19 (4): 282–9. PMID 15163095. doi:10.1177/088307380401900408.
- ^ http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/gerstmanns/gerstmanns.htm#What_is_the_prognosis
Further reading
- Ardila A, Rosselli M (December 2002). "Acalculia and dyscalculia" (PDF). Neuropsychol Rev. 12 (4): 179–231. PMID 12539968. doi:10.1023/a:1021343508573.
- "Gerstmann's Syndrome Information Page". National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
- Reeve R, Humberstone J (2011). "Five- to 7-year-olds' finger gnosia and calculation abilities". Front Psychol. 2: 359. PMC 3236444 . PMID 22171220. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00359.
Symptoms and signs: Speech and voice / Symptoms involving head and neck (R47–R49, 784)
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Aphasias |
- Acute Aphasias
- Expressive aphasia
- Receptive aphasia
- Conduction aphasia
- Anomic aphasia
- Global aphasia
- Transcortical sensory aphasia
- Transcortical motor aphasia
- Mixed transcortical aphasia
- Progressive Aphasias
- Progressive nonfluent aphasia
- Semantic dementia
- Logopenic progressive aphasia
- Speech disturbances
- Speech disorder
- Developmental verbal dyspraxia/Apraxia of speech
- Auditory verbal agnosia
- Dysarthria
- Schizophasia
- Aprosodia/Dysprosody
- Specific language impairment
- Thought disorder
- Pressure of speech
- Derailment
- Clanging
- Circumstantiality
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Communication disorders |
- Developmental dyslexia/Alexia
- Agnosia
- Astereognosis
- Prosopagnosia
- Visual agnosia
- Gerstmann syndrome
- Developmental coordination disorder/Apraxia
- Dyscalculia/Acalculia
- Agraphia
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Voice disturbances |
- Dysphonia/Aphonia
- Bogart–Bacall syndrome
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Nose |
- Post-nasal drip
- Epistaxis
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Mouth |
- Orofacial pain
- Toothache
- Galvanic pain
- Barodontalgia
- Fremitus
- Tooth mobility
- Bruxism
- Trismus
- Ageusia
- Hypogeusia
- Dysgeusia
- Parageusia
- Hypergeusia
- Xerostomia
- Halitosis
- Drooling
- Hypersalivation
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Neck |
|
Other |
- Headache
- Auditory processing disorder
- Otalgia
- Velopharyngeal inadequacy
- Velopharyngeal insufficiency
- Hypersensitive gag reflex
- Jaw claudication
- Hypomimia
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Lesions of spinal cord and brain
|
Spinal cord/
vascular myelopathy |
- sensory: Sensory ataxia
- Tabes dorsalis
- motor: Motor neurone disease
- mixed: Brown-Séquard syndrome
- cord syndrome (Posterior
- Anterior
- Central/Syringomyelia)
- Subacute combined degeneration of spinal cord (B12)
- Cauda equina syndrome
- Anterior spinal artery syndrome
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Brainstem |
Medulla (CN 8, 9, 10, 12) |
- Lateral medullary syndrome/Wallenberg
- Medial medullary syndrome/Dejerine
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Pons (CN 5, 6, 7, 8) |
- Upper dorsal pontine syndrome/Raymond Céstan syndrome
- Lateral pontine syndrome (AICA) (lateral)
- Medial pontine syndrome/Millard-Gubler syndrome/Foville's syndrome(basilar)
- Locked-in syndrome
- Internuclear ophthalmoplegia
- One and a half syndrome
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Midbrain (CN 3, 4) |
- Weber's syndrome
- Benedikt syndrome
- Parinaud's syndrome
- Nothnagel's syndrome
- Claude's syndrome
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Other |
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Cerebellum |
- lateral (Dysmetria
- Dysdiadochokinesia
- Intention tremor)
- medial (Cerebellar ataxia)
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Basal ganglia |
- Chorea
- Dystonia
- Parkinson's disease
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Cortex |
- ACA syndrome
- MCA syndrome
- PCA syndrome
- frontal lobe: Expressive aphasia
- Aboulia
- parietal lobe: Receptive aphasia
- Hemispatial neglect
- Gerstmann syndrome
- Astereognosis
- occipital lobe: Bálint's syndrome
- Cortical blindness
- Pure alexia
- temporal lobe: Cortical deafness
- Prosopagnosia
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Thalamus |
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Other |
- Subclavian steal syndrome
- Upper motor neurone lesion (Clasp-knife response)
- Lower motor neurone lesion
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Dyslexia and related specific developmental disorders (F80–F83, 315)
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General
conditions |
Speech and
language
impairment,
communication
disorder |
- Expressive language disorder
- Infantile speech
- Landau–Kleffner syndrome
- Language disorder
- Lisp
- Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder
- Specific language impairment
- Speech and language impairment
- Speech disorder
- Speech error
- Speech sound disorder
- Stammering
- Tip of the tongue
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Scholastic skills,
learning disorder |
- Developmental dyslexia
- Dyscalculia
- Dysgraphia (Disorder of written expression)
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Motor function |
- Developmental coordination disorder
- Developmental verbal dyspraxia also known as Childhood apraxia of speech
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Other |
- Auditory processing disorder
- Sensory processing disorder
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Related
topics |
- Dyslexia research
- Irlen filters
- Learning Ally
- Learning problems in childhood cancer
- Literacy
- Management of dyslexia, Dyslexia interventions
- Multisensory integration
- Neuropsychology
- Reading acquisition
- Spelling
- Writing system
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Lists |
- Dyslexia in fiction
- Languages by Writing System
- People with dyslexia
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