Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026
09:49
Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Lateropulsion, pushing and verticality perception in hemisphere stroke: a causal relationship?
D A Pérennou1, G Mazibrada, V Chauvineau
1Clinique de Médecine Physique et Réadaptation, Hôpital Nord-CHU Grenoble, Université Grenoble 1 degrees, Unité de Rééducation Neurologique du Grau du Roi, CHU Nîmes, France. DPerennou@chu-grenoble.fr
Brain : a Journal of Neurology
|August 6, 2008
Summary
Stroke patients often experience altered perception of verticality, affecting balance and leading to pushing behavior. This study reveals the right hemisphere
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Perception
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- Stroke can disrupt sensory processing, impacting balance and spatial orientation.
- Lateropulsion and pushing behavior are common in stroke survivors, suggesting altered verticality perception.
- Understanding the neural basis of verticality perception is crucial for rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between sensory modality perception of verticality, lateropulsion, pushing behavior, and lesion location in stroke patients.
- To determine the role of different brain regions in processing subjective verticality.
- To explore the neural underpinnings of pushing behavior in stroke.
Main Methods:
- Assessed subjective visual vertical (VV), haptic vertical (HV), and postural vertical (PV) in 86 first-stroke patients.
- Measured lateropulsion and pushing behavior.
- Correlated sensory verticality perception with lesion location in the brainstem and hemispheres.
Main Results:
- Postural vertical perception was more affected in right hemisphere strokes, linked to somatosensory cortex and thalamus damage.
- Transmodal tilts (PV + VV + HV) were observed in 22% of patients, predominantly with right hemisphere strokes.
- Tilts in postural vertical were more strongly associated with postural disorders than visual vertical tilts.
- Patients exhibiting pushing behavior showed transmodal tilts and severe postural vertical disruption.
Conclusions:
- Thalamo-parietal projections are vital for processing graviceptive somatosensory information.
- The right hemisphere is critical for maintaining an internal model of verticality and body orientation relative to gravity.
- Pushing behavior in stroke may result from aligning posture with an erroneous sense of verticality.
More Related Videos
07:03Evaluation of Hemisphere Lateralization with Bilateral Local Field Potential Recording in Secondary Motor Cortex of Mice
Published on: July 31, 2019
07:35Cognitive Function and Upper Limb Rehabilitation Training Post-Stroke Using a Digital Occupational Training System
Published on: December 29, 2023
Related Concept Videos
01:28Lateralization
Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.
01:28Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
01:05Cerebral Hemispheres
The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...
01:29Hemorrhagic Stroke ll: Pathophysiology
A hemorrhagic stroke develops when a cerebral blood vessel ruptures, allowing blood to escape into the surrounding brain tissue, as in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), or into the subarachnoid space, as in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Because the skull is a rigid compartment, the sudden presence of extravascular blood rapidly increases intracranial pressure and compresses adjacent neural structures, leading to immediate tissue injury and impaired cerebral perfusion.Mass Effect and Primary...
01:24Prosopagnosia
Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is the inability to recognize faces. In severe cases, individuals with prosopagnosia may not recognize close family members, including parents and spouses, by their faces. For instance, someone with prosopagnosia might walk past their child in a crowd, only realizing their mistake upon noticing their child's distinctive backpack or favorite jacket. Prosopagnosia specifically impairs facial recognition, while the recognition of other objects or...
01:17Hemorrhagic Stroke l: Introduction
A hemorrhagic stroke is an acute neurological event that occurs when a weakened cerebral blood vessel ruptures, allowing blood to accumulate within or around the brain. The sudden release of blood forms a focal hematoma that increases intracranial pressure, displaces neural tissue, and can obstruct cerebrospinal fluid pathways. These effects may be compounded by intraventricular extension of the hemorrhage, cerebral edema, or compression of adjacent structures, all of which contribute to...