Working memory and mental imagery in cerebral palsy: a single case investigation

In this study we describe visuospatial working memory and visual mental imagery of a child with Cerebral Palsy. Beyond a moderate impairment of visuomotor integration skills, cognitive level and memory span, poor performance emerged in figures reconstruction, in memorizing matrix patterns and movements along a path. No such deficits were observed in recalling figures and their positions on a grid and learning groups of words using a visual imagery strategy. This case highlights that impaired action execution impairs performance in imagery tasks as well, but not when alternative strategies (e.g., verbal encoding) can be adopted. Results are discussed considering recent evidence on working memory and visual imagery links, and their role in motor rehabilitation training.