P-2-04-03
FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE COMPONENTS OF 12 STANDARD TEST BATTERIES, FOR UNILATERAL SPATIAL NEGLECT, REVEALS THAT THEY CONTAIN DISCREET AND IMPORTANT CLINICAL VARIABLES
Shinichiro Maeshima, George Truman, Dennis S. Smith (Rehabilitation Studies, University of Sydney & Royal Rehabilitation Centre, Australia), Nobuyuki Dohi (Hiroshima Prefectual College of Health Science & Welfare), Koji Shigeno (Izu Nirayama Rehabilitation Hospital), Toru Itakura, Nonhiko Komai (Wakayama Medical College)
The aim of this study is to investigate a conventional battery of tests capable of assessing the presence of the components and extent of lesions in patients with unilateral spatial neglect.
Ninety-four patients who had unilateral spatial neglect with a stroke in right hemisphere were assessed on 12 traditional neglect batteries 4 weeks after the onset. Computerized tomography were also performed to investigate the possible anatomical relationships with each neglect battery.
Factor analysis showed that our tests loaded significantly on 5 factors. There are not only the visual scanning factor but also factors of imaging, visual judgment, visual cognition and effectiveness from the left hemisphere in unilateral spatial neglect. There are high correlations between each neuropsychological tests and neglect batteries. Furthermore, lesions in the paraventricular white matter were associated with clock and person drawing tasks. Lesion in the occipital lobe was associated with reading, explaining and visual counting tasks. Lesions in the temporal lobe and the posterior limb of the internal capsule were associated with the line bisection task.
We suggest that it is likely that there are some different components to unilateral spatial neglect. Failure in some tasks may predict different lesions in terms which include localization.
P-2-04-04
VISUOSPATIAL IMPAIRMENT AND ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE: A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE CUBE COPYING TASK
Shinichiro Maeshima, Dennis S. Smith (Rehabilitation Studies, University of Sydney & Royal Rehabilitation Centre, Australia), Toru Itakura, Man Nakagawa, Kunio Nakai, Norihiko Komai (Departmnent of Neurological Surgery, Wakayama Medical College, Japan)
Using a cube copying task, visuospatial impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) was identified and studied in relation to performance IQ, neuropsychological symptoms, and activities of daily living (ADL). In addition, a quantitative assessment of the performance IQ was also attempted by establishing a scoring guideline for the copying tasks. The results indicate that the subjects' performance in the copying task correlated to motor function, visuospatial impairment, and the results from the mobility and social cognition subtests of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The quantitative evaluation of the results from the copying task also showed a high correlation with the patients' constructional ability, assessed by the Block design and the Object assembly tasks from the WAIS-R. This study demonstrated that visuospatial deficits in PD patients were associated with impairments in both ADL and motor function. In addition, quantitative assessment of the copying task suggested that this test may be predictive of the non-verbal IQ. Therefore, we conclude that the copying task is a useful tool for the assessment of visuospatial impairment in patients with PD. These deficits may be associated with an increased risk of motor dysfunction such as difficulties in the ADL.
