• Akira Midorikawa, Toshio Fukutake, and Mitsuru Kawamura.
• Department of Psychology, Chuo University Faculty of Letters, Tokyo, Japan. green@tamacc.chuo-u.ac.jp
• Eur. Neurol. 2008 Jan 1;60(5):224-9.

Background/AimSome patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) have been shown to develop painting abilities after the onset of the disease; however, the reported cases have all been in western countries. The purpose of this report was to investigate whether this phenomenon was unique to western countries.Methods2 patients participated in this study. They were nonwestern uneducated patients with FTLD, semantic dementia subtype, who developed drawing skills after the onset of the disease. We compared their drawings with drawings in previous reports.ResultsThe characteristics of their paintings matched those of paintings from previously reported cases despite the cultural differences.ConclusionThese results support the assumption that the appearance of painting skills during this illness is not a reflection of learning, but instead is an expression of innate functions of the brain.Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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