A direct prefrontotectal tract against distractibility in the human brain

Ann Neurol. 2003 Apr;53(4):542-5. doi: 10.1002/ana.10560.

Abstract

Distractibility, which can be defined as an attention deficit in which orientation toward irrelevant targets can be hardly inhibited, is commonly related to a dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Here, we show that increased distractibility, observed in a patient with an exceptionally small lesion located in the upper brainstem, may result from the interruption of a direct tract that connects the prefrontal cortex to the superior colliculus, a structure involved in both eye movement control and attentional shifts.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Attention
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / pathology*
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / physiopathology
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Neural Pathways
  • Prefrontal Cortex / cytology*
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiopathology
  • Saccades
  • Substantia Nigra / cytology*
  • Superior Colliculi / cytology*