Klüver-Bucy Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes And Associated Disorders
The correct functioning of our brain allows our body to function properly and allows us to adapt and respond to the environment that surrounds us. So, we can regulate and organize our behavior so that we make it functional and allow us to satisfy our needs.
However, sometimes it is possible to suffer serious injuries or disorders that can generate the appearance of various symptoms that hinder our functioning and adaptation and that can lead us to very dangerous situations. This is the case of Klüver-Bucy syndrome which we will talk about in this article.
Klüver-Bucy syndrome is a group of symptoms associated with the destruction of certain brain areas existing in both humans and apes (in fact it was discovered by Heinrich Klüver and Paul Bucy during experimentation with monkeys) and with serious consequences on the daily functioning of those who suffer from it.
The main symptoms of this disorder are the presence of a lack of fear when faced with stimuli that should generate it, absence of risk assessment, meekness and obedience along with hypersexuality indiscriminate, hyperphagia (the subject eats excessively and with a lack of control over intake, and may even ingest inedible objects and materials such as plastics), hyperorality or tendency to explore everything with the mouth, hypermetamorphosis or tendency to become overexcited in the face of any visual stimulus and imitate it, lack of recognition or visual agnosia and memory disorders.
Language problems or aphasia may also occur. It is common for them to present anger or rage, but to express it in a placid and apparently non-reactive way.
This set of symptoms causes a great impact on the daily life of those who suffer from it, affecting your life in areas such as work, personal relationships, family or even basic activities of daily living. It is a very limiting syndrome that requires treatment and indicates the existence of lesions or some type of brain involvement.
Causes of the disorder
Unlike other disorders and syndromes, in which the causes of its appearance are not completely clear, Klüver-Bucy syndrome has been observed as a direct consequence of the removal or bilateral injury of the tonsillar complex and part of the temporal lobes ( hippocampus and uncus are generally affected).
This destruction explains the existence of symptoms linked to affectivity, to the emission or inhibition of emotional responses and the management of aggression and sexuality, among many others. The alteration or destruction of the inferior temporal region, where the visual associative areas are located, explains the frequent presence of agnosia at the visual level.
In short, it causes the set of symptoms mentioned above both due to the destruction of the area in charge of these functions and to the cessation of the flow of information that other areas need to integrate.
Disorders in which it appears
Although the causes of Klüver-Bucy syndrome are bilateral brain damage in the tonsillar and temporal complex , this injury can appear in a large number of situations, medical conditions and disorders in which neuronal degeneration occurs. It may be useful to know some of them, especially highlighting the following.
1. Traumatic brain injury
Depending on the brain area affected and the damage that occurs, a traumatic brain injury can lead to Klüver-Bucy syndrome.
Brain hemorrhages and/or ischemia are also common causes of Kluver-Bucy syndrome. The destruction, drowning or compression of neurons in different brain areas, if it occurs bilaterally in the temporal and amygdaloid complex, could result in the appearance of said syndrome.
3. Herpetic encephalitis
Herpes encephalitis, an infection of the nervous system caused by retrograde transmission of the herpes virus to brain tissue (frequently affecting the temporal lobe), it is also a cause associated with Klüver-Bucy syndrome. In fact, it is considered its most common cause.
4. Temporal epilepsy
Epilepsy is a disorder that can greatly affect those who suffer from it and is also one of the most frequent causes of this syndrome. Hyperactivation of neuronal bundles It can cause neuronal destruction, and the appearance of this syndrome. Although during a seizure it is possible that it may appear temporarily, the more epileptic seizures there are, the greater the risk of it becoming more permanent.
5. Dementia
Kluver Bucy syndrome frequently occurs in neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. In dementia, neurons degenerate, ceasing to function correctly and progressively dying. When this condition damages the temporal bone, it is common for this syndrome to appear.
The most prototypical case is that of Alzheimer’s disease, in which it is common to find Klüver-Bucy syndrome in phase 3 or final, in which the maximum brain deterioration occurs, with the majority of mental capacities diminished (already He does not recognize those around him or himself in the mirror, he slowly becomes silent and his movement ceases, his language is profoundly altered) and there is total dependence for survival that ends with the death of the patient. It also appears in frontotemporal dementia or Pick’s disease.
6. Anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
Anoxia or lack of oxygen at the brain level causes neuronal death. Which, if it occurs in the areas indicated above, can lead to the appearance of Klüver-Bucy syndrome.
Meningitis or inflammation of the meninges caused by an infection is another cause of this disorder, due to the chemical changes caused by the infection and the understanding of the brain by the meninges. If, in addition to the meninges, the brain becomes inflamed, the syndrome is even more likely.
8. Surgical injuries
Although it is not common today, Klüver-Bucy syndrome can sometimes appear as a result of injuries caused during brain surgery. Especially when it is necessary to carry out resection of both temporal lobes.
9. Tumors
The presence of brain tumors is also a possible cause of Klüver-Bucy syndrome. It can occur in benign tumors if the temporalis are located or compressed, or in infiltrative malignant tumors. It is also possible that it occurs secondary to metastasis of a tumor located outside the nervous system.
Treatment
Klüver-Bucy syndrome is a disorder caused by severe brain injury , with little recovery capacity in most cases. There is no cure for this problem. However, it is possible to establish treatments that help control the symptoms, and drugs such as benzodiazepines and anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine can produce improvements.
In addition, some patients may show improvement if the brain involvement decreases. This is what happens, for example, with some traumatic brain injuries or cerebrovascular accidents (once the ischemic penumbra zone has recovered or the hemorrhage has been reabsorbed), in some cases of treated epilepsy or when an infection is eliminated without causing permanent damage.
