Diseases related to Forebrain

Thalamus
As a result of a thalamic infarct, frequently involving its posterior aspect, the patient
feels a very painful and unpleasant sensation. When the pain persists generally as a
burning sensation, it is referred to as a thalamic pain syndrome.
Hypothalamus
Because the hypothalamus mediates a variety of auto-nomic, visceral, and
emotional responses, damage to different groups of hypothalamic nuclei can result
in disorders in eating, endocrine function, temperature regulation, aggression and
rage, and sympathetic dysfunction. An example of one such disorder is diabetes
insipidus, which results from damage to vasopressin neurons located in the
supraoptic or paraventricular nuclei and is characterized by the flow of large
amounts of urine coupled with drinking of large quantities of fluids.
Basal Ganglia
Diseases of the basal ganglia are characterized by abnormal, involuntary
movements at rest, referred to collectively as dyskinesia and by abnormal changes
in muscle tone. Parkinsons disease, an example of a hypokinetic disorder, is
associated with tremor, rigidity, and akinesia. The disorder results from a loss of
dopamine released from the substantia nigra that supplies the neostriatum. Other
disorders include chorea, which is a hyperkinetic disorder associated with a loss of
gamma-aminobutyric acid in the striatum, characterized by brisk involuntary
movements of the extremities and hemiballism, which involves damage to the
subthalamic nucleus, resulting in abnormal flailing movements of the arm and leg
on the contralateral side of the body.
Limbic Structures
Because of their relationships with the hypothalamus and midbrain PAG, disruptions
of limbic structures resulting from vascular lesions or tumors frequently are
associated with marked changes in emotional behavior, irritability, impulsivity, and
rage. Structures most closely associated with these effects include the amygdala,
hippocampal formation, and the prefrontal cortex. Other disorders include loss of
short-term memory functions, particularly after damage to the hippocampal
formation; a decrease in cognitive ability and flatness in emotional responsiveness
after damage to the prefrontal cortex; and seizure disorders associated most
commonly with damage to temporal lobe structures.
Cerebral Cortex
In brief, some of these disorders are mentioned here and usually result from tumors
or vascular lesions. These disorders include: (1) upper motor neuron paralysis
associated with damage of the precentral and premotor cortices; (2) several forms
of aphasias (inability to express or understand language) associated with damage to
the ventrolateral aspect of the premotor region or borderline region of the temporal
and parietal lobes; (3) apraxias (inability to produce a motor act correctly even
though sensory and motor circuits are intact) associated with damage to the
premotor cortex or to the posterior parietal cortex; (4) loss of somatosensory and
auditory discrimination ability after damage to the postcentral and superior
temporal gyri, respectively; and (5) partial blindness after damage to the region of
the cal-carine fissure of the occipital cortex.

Definition
Brain stem - the central trunk of the mammalian brain, consisting of the medulla oblongata,
pons, and midbrain, and continuing downward to form the spinal cord.
Cerebrum - the principal and most anterior part of the brain in vertebrates, located in the front
area of the skull and consisting of two hemispheres, left and right, separated by a fissure. It is
responsible for the integration of complex sensory and neural functions and the initiation and
coordination of voluntary activity in the body.
Corpus callosum - known as the callosal commissure, is a wide, flat bundle of neural fibers beneath
the cortex in the eutherian brain at the longitudinal fissure. It connects the left and right cerebral
hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication. It is the largest white matter structure
in the brain, consisting of 200250 million contralateral axonal projections.
Basal nuclei - comprise multiple subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates,
which are situated at the base of theforebrain. Basal ganglia nuclei are strongly interconnected with
the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and brainstem, as well as several other brain areas. The basal ganglia
are associated with a variety of functions including: control of voluntary motor movements,
procedural learning, routine behaviors or "habits" such as bruxism, eye movements, cognition[1] and
emotion.[2].

Sella turcica - the sella turcica (Turkish Chair) is a saddle-shaped depression in the body of
the sphenoid bone of the human skull and of the skulls of
other Hominidaeincluding chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas. It serves as a cephalometric
landmark.