Schizophrenia-like psychosis following left putamen infarct: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Subcortical structures of the brain have been studied extensively to establish their implication in the development of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. Any pathology in these structures of the brain identified on neuroimaging techniques can give us helpful information in learning the neuropsychiatric background of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. CASE PRESENTATION: We report an interesting case of a 38-year-old man with new onset psychosis who was found to have a lacunar infarct of the putamen region in the left basal ganglia on a computed tomography scan of his brain. CONCLUSION: It is possible to hypothesize that the psychotic symptoms in our patient may be the direct result of the putamen infarct, as pathology in the basal ganglia at the level of the striatum can result in complex cognitive and behavioural symptoms. Understanding organic causes of psychosis, including cerebrovascular compromises leading to damage of structures in the basal ganglia, can provide important information about the causality of psychosis and ways to treat it.