Klüver-Bucy syndrome

[kloo-ver-byoo-see]

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a syndrome caused by bilateral injury to the temporal lobes and characterized by memory defect, hypersexuality, excessive oral behavior, and diminished fear reactions.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Klüver-Bucy syndrome¹

Named after German-born U.S. neurologist Heinrich Klüver (1898–1979) and U.S. neurologist Paul Clancy Bucy (1904–92), who jointly described it in 1938

Example Sentences

The behavior has been given a name in medical circles, Klüver-Bucy Syndrome, and can cause “abnormalities in memory, social and sexual functioning and idiosyncratic behaviors,” according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

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Although Klüver-Bucy Syndrome relatively rare, it's one of the most notorious neurological causes of a complete breakdown in one's ability to control sexual urges.

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It may be awkward enough telling other parents why your preschooler is humping everything in sight—just try rehashing the foregoing description of Klüver-Bucy Syndrome to your friends at the day care—but we do tend, as adults, to be mostly forgiving of a child's improprieties.

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Dramatic case studies illustrating the devastating effects of Klüver-Bucy Syndrome abound in the clinical literature, and they raise intriguing philosophical questions for us to consider.

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