Alterations of emotional reactivity following righttemporal lobectomy

• Published in: Neurocase Vol. 23; no. 5-6; pp. 314 - 320
• Main Authors: Morris, Mary K., Bowers, Dawn, Williamson, John, Heilman, Kenneth M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge 02.11.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Amygdala; Anterior Temporal Lobectomy - adverse effects; Arousal; Arteriovenous Fistula - surgery; Cognitive ability; Conductance; Defensive behavior; emotional responses; Emotions; Emotions - physiology; Functional Laterality - physiology; Galvanic Skin Response - physiology; Humans; Information processing; Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations - surgery; Male; Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology; Right temporal lobectomy; skin conductance; Temporal lobe; emotional responses; skin conductance; Right temporal lobectomy; arousal
• ISSN: 1355-4794; 1465-3656; 1362-4970
• DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2017.1416148

To learn if a right temporal lobectomy altered a patient's autonomic and cognitive responses to aversive and appetitive pictures, we investigated a man whose right anterior temporal lobe and amygdala had been resected to remove an arteriovenous malformation. This patient revealed unusually low self-reports of arousal with a lack of heightened skin conductance responses to aversive pictures. For pleasant pictures, his self-reports of arousal and his physiological responses were similar to healthy men. This patient's responses are consistent with a bivalent model of emotional processing, with a right temporal lobectomy compromising the activation of his defensive action response system.