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A direct prefrontotectal tract against distractibility in the human brain
Author(s) -
Gaymard Bertrand,
François Chantal,
Ploner Christoph J.,
Condy Carine,
RivaudPéchoux Sophie
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.10560
Subject(s) - neuroscience , prefrontal cortex , brainstem , superior colliculus , psychology , dorsolateral prefrontal cortex , attentional control , dorsolateral , orientation (vector space) , cognitive psychology , lesion , cognition , psychiatry , geometry , mathematics
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. Ann Neurol 2003;53:542–545