[The clinical neuropsychological aspects in the surgical treatment of arteriovenous malformations of the gyrus cinguli].

Clinical and neuropsychological studies of the outcomes of surgical treatment in patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVM) of the gyrus cinguli were conducted. Preoperative examination revealed predominantly memory disorders in 38 cases. Of them 5 cases had amnestic disturbances similar to those of the Korsakoff syndrome. Autonomic and epileptic seizures were not common. Thirty eight patients underwent surgery. Memory deterioration was recorded in 23 cases postoperatively. Three patients developed a "new" Korsakoff syndrome. The rate of deterioration of memory disorders showed a clear correlation with the extent of gyrus cinguli destruction and degree of corpus callosum integration to AVM nidus. The qualitative analysis of amnestic syndromes demonstrated that the majority of patients developed pre- and postoperative disorders of trace selectivity, the insight incontinence of the story essence accompanied by diminished critical attitude towards their condition. This pattern of defects was similar to the clinical features of the amnestic syndrome in patients with frontal lobe lesions. Combined damage of frontal lobes and their connections (with gyrus cinguli in this case) is of great importance in the formation of a clinical picture in man. The findings should be taken into consideration when surgical policy is to be analyzed.