[1] Patients exhibiting utilization behavior have difficulty resisting the impulse to operate or manipulate objects which are in their visual field and within reach.
[3] Individuals who display utilization behavior tend to reach out and begin to automatically use objects in the visual field of their environment.
People with utilization behavior may be unable to resist grasping or using an object placed in front of them, regardless of the context or environment.
This set of symptoms may be related to Alien Hand Syndrome (AHS), a neurological disorder in which the subject does not acknowledge ownership of a limb when visual cues are lacking.
[3] The frontal lobe is responsible for problem solving, motor function, memory, judgment, impulse control, and social behavior.
[6] Imitation Behavior (IB) has been studied by Lhermitte et al. in conjunction with UB which showed an imbalance between the dependence on and independence from external stimuli.
Thalamic infarctions have produced hypometabolism, a decrease in metabolic rate, in the frontal areas and hypoperfusion resulting in UB.
Ishihara et al. sought to demonstrate this linkage by observing a patient who was experiencing loss of consciousness.
[1] The results showed that a lesion in the subcortical white matter of the superior frontal gyrus was the cause of utilization behavior in the patient.
A coronal section of the brain confirmed an infarct, tissue death due to lack of oxygen, in the left superior frontal gyrus with the main lesion in the subcortical white matter.
[1] Fiber bundles are also present in the subcortical white matter connecting the prefrontal area with the nucleus of the thalamus.
[10] Doctors can test the patient's response, communication and motor skills but the only way to fully diagnose this disorder is to do a scan of the brain to see if the frontal lobe has been damaged.
This can be done with the following scan types: Although no specific cure has been found for UB, steps can be taken to reduce its symptoms and severity.
Grasp reflex (GR) is the tendency to seize objects that are usually presented between the patient's thumb and index finger.
[5] The patient would grasp the stimulus in tonic flexion, a brief limb extension, and draw the object towards the body thus increasing the strength of the grip.