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Published on: September 18, 2012
Visual distraction: an altered aiming spatial response in dementia.
Elizabeth E Galletta1, Anthony H Lequerica, Scott R Pekrul
1Kessler Foundation Research Center, West Orange, N.J., USA.
Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra
|June 29, 2012
Summary
Patients with probable Alzheimer-type dementia (pAD) show altered visuospatial processing, exhibiting greater rightward aiming errors in line bisection tasks compared to controls, particularly with distraction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- Visuospatial tasks like line bisection reveal a leftward bias in healthy individuals, often linked to right-brain dominance.
- Probable dementia of the Alzheimer type (pAD) involves neurodegeneration in temporoparietal regions, potentially impacting visuospatial abilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate visuospatial bias in patients with probable dementia of the Alzheimer type (pAD).
- To compare motor-preparatory aiming in pAD patients versus matched controls on a line bisection task.
Main Methods:
- A line bisection task was administered to subjects with pAD and healthy controls.
- The task was performed in near and far space, with and without visual distraction (left or right-sided).
Main Results:
- Participants with pAD demonstrated distinct motor-preparatory spatial bias compared to controls.
- Significantly more rightward aiming errors were observed in pAD patients, especially without distraction and with right-sided distraction.
Conclusions:
- Distraction may induce altered motor-preparatory brain activity in pAD subjects.
- This suggests a difference in visual-motor function and spatial bias between pAD patients and controls.
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