[Attention and executive processes in neuropsychological rehabilitation of the visuospatial processes]

Cognitive deficits following lesions in parieto occipital areas tend to cause, among others, visuospatial and visuoperceptive alterations. The aim of this article is to examine the influence of others possible deficit over its rehabilitation.

We discuss several patients who present visuospatial impairment after different brain injuries, not only those affecting the areas typically involved in these deficits, such as parieto occipital cortex. Rehabilitation was conducted on an individual basis in the brain injury unit of Beata Maria Ana hospital. Neuropsychological evaluation showed some difficulties not previously described together with these deficits, related to attention, working memory and executive functions, as well as topographic disorientation, lack of visuospatial coordination, distances perception disorders and difficulty to mentally rotate objects. The rehabilitation was AIMed not only at restoration but also compensation of visuospatial deficits, successfully achieved after treatment: patients were capable of returning to their daily activities, including their jobs.

In patients with visuospatial deficits, a compressive neuropsychological evaluation seem to be essential to define the influence of the other cognitive domains over the rehabilitation of visuospatial problems. In particular, the reinforcement of processes related to attention control and executive functions could very important, give their contribution to the learning of compensatory strategies and assuming that those functions pay key role in the organization and supervision demanded for perceptual skills.