Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Sixty surviving patients from a community-based stroke register who had CT scan evidence of a single brain lesion and neurological signs appropriate to it were interviewed three to five years following their first-ever stroke. Mood disorder (anxiety and depression), physical disability, and intellectual impairment were assessed using standardized measures. The position and volume of the brain lesion was determined from CT scans performed soon after the stroke. The prevalence of depressive disorder was lower in this sample than that reported in previous studies (DSM-IIIR major depression 8.3%; all DSM-IIIR depressive disorders 18.3%). Reports by other workers for an association of depressive disorder either with left-sided brain lesions, or with anteriorly placed lesions in the left cerebral hemisphere, were not supported. Neither was there evidence of a correlation between symptom score and proximity of the lesion to the anterior pole of the left cerebral hemisphere. Psychiatric symptom scores were however greater with larger volume brain lesions. Anxiety disorders, especially agoraphobia, were relatively common (20% if diagnosed in the presence of depressive disorder), but were not related to lesion location or volume.

Original publication

DOI

10.1017/s0033291700036503

Type

Journal article

Journal

Psychol Med

Publication Date

11/1990

Volume

20

Pages

815 - 828

Keywords

Activities of Daily Living, Aged, Anxiety Disorders, Brain, Brain Damage, Chronic, Brain Mapping, Cerebrovascular Disorders, Cohort Studies, Depressive Disorder, Dominance, Cerebral, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mood Disorders, Neurocognitive Disorders, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Tomography, X-Ray Computed