Criminal Responsibility of the Frontal Lobe Syndrome.

Abstract

Neurological and/or psychiatric symptoms might be detected due to damage of frontal lobes as detected in damages of many brain regions. Frontal lobe syndrome (FLS) occurs as a result of damage in prefrontal region due to various causes. Symptoms due to prefrontal region damage, varies according to the size and location of the lesion. In most of the cases; executive dysfunctions, attention deficits, inconsistencies in social life, impulse control problems, obsessive behaviors and violence behaviors are common clinical signs. Behavioral symptoms seen in FLS can be confused with personality disorders and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. FLS is a neuropsychiatric disorder rarely assessed in forensic psychiatry and in terms of detection of criminal responsibility. In this case report, criminal responsibility in FLS was assessed through a FLS case in which an offense of "threat" was committed and investigated in terms of criminal responsibility.