Limb apraxia in patients with damage confined to the left basal ganglia and thalamus

Abstract

Limb apraxia was investigated with standardised tests in 14 patients whose CT scan provided evidence of a vascular lesion confined to the left basal ganglia, or the thalamus, or both, and not involving the cortex or adjacent white matter. Five patients were severely impaired in imitating movements and pantomiming object use. Four of them also performed poorly when tested with real objects. In two patients the lesion was primarily thalamic and in three the lesion was primarily in the lenticular nucleus and the posterior limb of the internal capsule. Patients without apraxia generally had smaller injuries, but there were exceptions. Apraxia is currently conceived of as due to damage of cortical areas and their cortico-cortical connections, but the present data suggest that the model should be enlarged to include the deep nuclei and the pathways running through them.