Pathological laughter as heralding manifestation of left middle cerebral artery territory infarct: case report and review of literature

Abstract

Clinical, radiological and pathological studies in patients with stroke, presenting with pathological laughter as heralding manifestation, have shown lesions in the internal capsule and thalamus, basal ganglion, hypothalamus and ventral pons. In this report a patient with similar manifestation and having a cortical infarct in the territory supplied by superior division of middle cerebral artery is being presented. Our case suggests possible influence of dominant cerebral hemisphere, especially of Broca's area, on the motor control of laughter.