Right Frontal Infarct

What Are the Effects of a Frontal Lobe Stroke?

From Jose Vega M.D., Ph.D., former About.com Guide

Updated April 15, 2009

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

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Brain's Frontal Lobes

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Question: What Are the Effects of a Frontal Lobe Stroke?

Answer: Frontal lobe strokes can cause a variety of effects which range from weakness to lack of motivation. For this reason, it is helpful to separate these effects into four categories.

Motor:

·         Weakness or paralysis on the side of the body opposite the stroke

·         Unmasking of primitive reflexes such as instinctive sucking, grasping, and groping

·         Compulsive mimicking of facial gestures made by others

·         Compulsive repetition of a movement (motor perseveration)

·         Abulia

·         Apraxia of gait

·         Urinary incontinence

Speech and Language

·         Broca’s aphasia (when stroke affects the dominant language hemisphere)

Cognition and Intellect

·         Lack of initiative, vacillation, mood changes and inattentiveness

·         Difficulty solving problems (goal-directed behavior) in different realms of cognition including psycholinguistic, constructive, logical, and arithmetical

Behavior and Personality

·         Profound lack of initiative and motivation

·         Spontaneous expression of socially inappropriate remarks

·         Irritability

·         Carelessness and apathy

·         Inappropriate and seemingly random persistence and repetition of certain behaviors