Hemineglect also known as unilateral spatial neglect, hemispatial neglect, hemi-inattention, hemisensory, parietal neglect or spatial neglect (Kerkhoff, 2000), is a condition in which patients are unable to attend and respond to the contralesional side of space (Dijkerman, Webling, ter Wal, Groet, & van Zandvoort, 2003). Hemineglect is characterized by the lack of spatial awareness, most commonly on the left hemispace (Parton & Malhotra & Husain, 2004). The most common form of hemineglect, is that of patients who have right hemisphere lesions commonly found to damage the ‘where’ pathway, most commonly after a stroke. These kinds of patients tend to neglect the left hand side of space (Driver & Mattingley, 1998). Although it is not restricted to right hemispheric lesions in the ‘where visual pathway’, it is more predominant and tends to be harder to rehabilitate back to full recovery (Parton; Malhotra; Husain, 2004). Hemineglect does not just present itself visually, but also through other senses such as motor neglect, auditory neglect, representational neglect and also personal neglect (Plummer, Morris, & Dunai, 2003). Hemineglect is not a result of loss of sensory disorder. It is not uncommon to receive left hemisphere lesions or trauma and gain hemineglect. It does seem however that it is easier to treat and rehabilitate patients to a full recovery if this damage has occurred, compared to right hemisphere damage. Hemineglect is present when there is damage to the dorsal/ where visual pathway in the brain which leads from the occipital lobe of the brain to the parietal lobe. The ‘where visual pathway’ is concerned with constructing three dimensional representations of the environment and helps our brain to navigate where things... ... middle of paper ... ... sight: A case of hemineglect. In J. A. Ogden, Fractured Minds (pp. 113-136). New York: Oxford University Press. Parton, A., Malhotra, P., & Husain, M. (2004). Hemispatial Neglect. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 13-21. Plummer, P., Morris, M. E., & Dunai, J. (2003). Assessment of Unilateral Neglect. Physical Therapy , 732-740. Pouget, A., & Sejnowski, T. J. (2001). Simulating a Lesion in a Basis Function Model of Spatial. Psychological Review 108:3, 653-673. Rossetti, Y., Rode G., Pisella, L., Farne, A., Li, L., Boisson, D., & Perenin, M.-T. (1998). Prism Adaptation to a rightward optical deviation rehabilitates left hemispatial neglect. Nature, 166-168. Tilikete, C., Rode, G., Rossetti, Y., Pichon, J., Ling, L., & Boisson, D. (2001). Prism adaptation to rightward optical deviation improves postural imbalance in left-hemiparetic patients. Current Biology, 524-528.
The symptoms of a right-hemisphere stroke are very much similar like the symptoms Mr. Fix-it is experiencing. For example, both suggest that functions on the left side of the body are completely neglected; therefore, the left visual section of the body does not respond effectively to stimuli due to the neglect. Damage to the right occipital lobe is very likely. The patient may have experienced some damage to areas 18 and 19 of the occipital lobe. “Damage to these association areas resulted in the patient’s failure to recognize items even when they have been seen before”, such as Mr. Fix-it’s deficiency to recognize geometric shapes (Carlson, 2010). Moreover, the patient could have also experience damage in the frontal lobe, specifically on area 8, in which it could have r...
Marr, D. (1976). Early processing of visual information. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London Ser. B, 275, 483-524.
In this paper I will detail the story, “Eyes Right!” by Dr. Oliver Sacks. This story comes from the book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. Dr. Sacks explains the story of Mrs. S who has suffered a massive stroke. I will begin my paper by giving a summary of the story, including the brain systems and functions that were affected. Next I will address the impact of stroke on Mrs. S occupational performance. I will then provide affective responses from Dr. Sacks, Mrs. S, and myself. Finally, I will provide a conclusion of how this story added to my learning for OT school.
To begin, it seems the cliché phrase of “mind over matter” really connects to a lot of the experiences and symptoms that Sarah suffered from her Left Neglect. In reality, an individual experiences two sides to the world, the left and the right. The traumatic brain injury sustained from the accident caused Sarah’s mind to completely disassociate from the left. Sarah’s whole left side became non-existent. It didn’t matter what actually was in front of Sarah, what mattered is what her mind brought attention to. It seems like Genova tore a page straight from the Twilight Zone, for initially one could only imagine this disorder existing in th...
Rowland, Lewis P. (ed.): Merritt's Textbook of Neurology, eighth edition. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia, 1959, pp. 630--631.
A large concern of the field of neurobiology seems to be finding and understanding a connection between the structure and function of the nervous system. What tangible system of tissues is responsible for creating a given perceived output? Some outputs can be more easily traced back to a specific 'motor symphony' and the involved structures isolated. This problem has obsessed generations of scientists. One of the first of this generation of researcher was F.J. Gall who promoted the idea that observable features of the brain could lead to an understanding of specific traits of action (7). Gall's greatest opponent, Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens published research on localization of function and among his findings was evidence for sensory perception in certain sub-cortical structures (7). However, when Flourens examined the cerebrum he did not get such clean results. He found that damage to the cerebrum would not compromise specific abilities in the patient based on area, but incapacitate the patient in different ways based on the extent of the created lesion. In other words, damage to the cerebrum effected a diminution of 'higher mental faculties' such as "perception intellect and will" according to how great the lesion actually was, not according to where in the hemispheres it occurred (7). His conclusion proposed these higher mental faculties as existing throughout the structures of the cerebrum, and not isolated as with sensory perception. How is it possible to attribute, say elements of personality to a specific structure? Is their a region of the brain responsible for the way we are? A 'nice' region, an 'angry' gland? Here we encounter the ever ephemeral concept of where the I-function lies within the nervous system.
Lisa Genova’s Left Neglected examines the shock of a substantial brain injury on a woman whose mind never stops running. Sarah Nickerson suffers from hemispatial neglect syndrome, which resulted from a severe car accident. Throughout this analysis, I will consider how Sarah’s life after her injury differs from her past, identify the major themes presented by Genova that coincide with Sarah’s trauma, and reflect on how Sarah’s account of brain injury changed my understanding of brain function, injury, and recovery.
My scientific concept is how sight effects balance. Balance is the equal distribution of weight. “Balance is controlled by the vestibular system, which includes the eyes, the inner ear, and other sensory systems of the body” (asha.org). The visual system interacts with the vestibular system by using the
Witelson SF (1995) Neuroanatomical bases of hemispheric functional specialization in the human brain: Possible developmental factors. In Kitterle FL (Ed), Hemispheric communications: Mechanisms and Models. (pp. 61-84) New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associated, Inc., Publishers.
Mook, D. G. (2004). Roger Sperry and the Bisected Brain. In D. G. Mook, Classic Experiments in Psychology (pp. 67-71). Westport, Connecticut, United States: Greenwood Press.
The oculomotor nerve divides into two branches; the smaller superior branch and the larger inferior branch. The superior branch innervates the levator palpebrae superioris, and superior rectus muscles. The inferior branch innervates inferior rectus, medial rectus, and inferior oblique muscles.The woman’s symptoms are characteristic of damage to the third cranial nerve. The first of these is diplopia, also known as double vision, or the inability of the being able to line up correctly in order to focus on an object, there are two types of
Kandel, E. R., J. H. Schwarz, and T. M. Jessel. Principles of Neural Science. 3rd ed. Elsevier. New York: 1991.
As we know, agnosia is something that caused by brain damage. It can happen with other neurological disorders and in fact, it can be sign that the patient is experiencing a neur...
...owell, E. R., Thompson, P. M., & Toga, A. W. (2004). Mapping changes in the human cortex
OTRs can provide practical and effective training and techniques to clients who have unilateral spatial neglect. Among the benefits of partial visual occlusion is that it can be used during remedial training such as visual scanning training as well as during ADL performance (Freeman, 2000). The effectiveness of partial visual occlusion technique was seen on a study conducted by Freeman (2000) in which participants who wore right half-field patches increased their total FIM (in a range of ADL) score and spent the longest amount of time looking at the left reference zone compare to other participants who had a different treatment approach.