Hemispatial neglect

Abstract

SES AND NEUROANATOMY IN READING DISABILITY 2 Although reading disability (RD) and socioeconomic status (SES) are independently associated with variation in reading ability and brain structure/function, the joint influence of SES and RD on neuroanatomy and/or response to intervention is unknown. Sixty-five children with RD (ages 6 to 9) with diverse SES were assigned to an intensive, 6-week summer reading intervention (n = 40) or to a waiting-list control group (n = 25). Before and after, all children completed standardized reading assessments and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure cortical thickness. At baseline, higher SES correlated with greater vocabulary and greater cortical thickness in bilateral perisylvian and supramarginal regions-especially in left pars opercularis. Within the intervention group, lower SES was associated with both greater reading improvement and greater cortical thickening across broad, bilateral occipitotemporal and temporoparietal regions following the intervention. Additionally, treatment responders (n = 20), compared to treatment non-responders (n = 19), exhibited significantly greater cortical thickening within similar regions. The waiting control and non-responder groups exhibited developmentally-typical, non-significant cortical thinning during this time period. These findings indicate that effective summer reading intervention is coupled with cortical growth, and is especially beneficial for children with RD who come from lower-SES home environments. (Word count: 197)

Visual hemispatial neglect, re-assessed

“…These paper-and-pencil tests are often standardized and are relatively easy to administer, requiring minimal equipment. For instance, line cancellation, line bisection, and visual search have played a major role in measuring and studying visual hemispatial neglect (a neurological disorder in which patients fail to attend to or make explicit use of contralesional information; e.g., Albert, 1973;Behrmann et al, 2004;Buxbaum et al, 2004;Ferber & Karnath, 2001;Halligan & Marshall, 1991). Although traditional paper-and-pencil tests are useful in assessing clinical signs, computerized testing can offer better control of stimulus parameters.…”

Anatomical Correlates of Directional Hypokinesia in Patients with Hemispatial Neglect

“…It appears in 25% of stroke patients (Pedersen et al, 1997) and is more common after a right hemisphere lesion, with an incidence of ϳ50% (Buxbaum et al, 2004), than after a left hemisphere lesion. The affected patients might fail to eat from the left side of the tray, have trouble grooming the left side of their body, and respond poorly to people standing on their left.…”

Assessment of unilateral spatial neglect in children using the Teddy Bear Cancellation Test

“…In adults (Azouvi et al 2002, Buxbaum et al 2004) and children, USN induces severe disability in daily activities (LaurentVannier et al 2001(LaurentVannier et al , 2003, and can have a negative impact on academic performance in reading, writing, and mathematics. For this reason, it is important that USN be correctly diagnosed so that adequate rehabilitation can be initiated at an early stage.…”