A few weeks ago, I came across a research article outlining a case study about a man who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. This really got me thinking about what we currently know about the brains function, and how that can be generalized to the entire population. How do we know which areas of the brain are involved in certain functioning? How can we figure this out? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that brain tumors are a perfect example of all that we don’t know.

In the article by Burns et al., they highlighted the fact that this mans brain tumor (which was in the orbitofrontal cortex), presented itself with symptoms “typical” of that area, but additionally, presented itself with a few symptoms typical of temporal lobe injury. Now, how can a symptom appear if there is no direct damage to that area by tumor displacement? This article didn’t conclude this question for me, it merely presented the facts of the symptoms and treatment. This caused me to search a little further for an answer to this question.

In an article written by Catani et al. called “What is a disconnection syndrome?”, they answered many of the unclear facts from the Burns et al. article. Alexander Luria was a neuropsychologist with the majority of his work being done in the later half of the 20th century. Luria did not see the brain as different areas functioning separately. Alternatively, he saw it as a series of connections. This does prove to be true, as evident through white matter tracts in the brain seen though neuroimaging. Catani presents the idea of higher order cognitive functioning being a result of the “associative convergence (or integration) of information from multiple sources”. If the brain is a series of connections, and all of our output requires interactions between many brains areas, then it is easy to see how the patient with the orbitofrontal tumor was lacking some of the functions that lie in the temporal lobe. If the tumor displaced or crushed one of the connections between the two areas, any of the functions that rely on that connection would thereby be damaged.

It is quite interesting that damage to one area of the brain seems like a dysfunction in another area. Hopefully, with such information and more information we can gain appreciation for how amazing of an organ we carry around with us on a daily basis.

Works Cited:

Burns, Jeffrey M., and Russell H. Swerdlow. “Right Orbitofrontal Tumor with Pedophilia Symptom and Constructional Apraxia Sign.” Archives of Neurology 60.3 (2003): 437-40.

Catani, Marco, and Marsel Mesulam. “What is a Disconnection Syndrome?” Cortex 44.8 (2008): 911-3.