[Kleptomania in frontal lobe lesion].

A case of a kleptomaniac with frontal lobe dysfunction is presented. Kleptomania is related to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders and the affective spectrum disorders. In obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders neuroimaging and neuropsychological tasks have revealed abnormal functioning in the frontal brain which also could be related to kleptomania. Consolidated findings from animal and human studies have implied central serotonergic transmission in the genesis of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders and affective spectrum disorders. Altogether, these results suggest that kleptomania, like other disorders of the above mentioned spectrums, could have an abnormality in serotonergic transmission in common.