[The groping phenomena in a case of Alzheimer type dementia]

We reported a case of senile dementia, Alzheimer type, with groping in response to a visual stimulus ("visual groping"). T.S. was a right-handed woman, 69 years old. In the beginning she displayed "visual groping" of the right hand, besides aphasia, lowered registration and Casteigne's "Motor neglect" of the right upper extremity. As the disease progressed, "visual groping" of the left hand developed, followed by "forced grasping" of the left hand. When the patient was 62 years old, she first showed decreased volition and lowered registration. Later poor finger movement and lessened speech were marked. At the age of 69, she was admitted to our hospital with aphasia and reduced registration. The patient showed preservation in naming and drawing tests. She also displayed a "visual groping" phenomenon of the right hand. This phenomenon was revealed when an examiner displayed something about 50 cm in front of the patient, and then she extended the upper extremity gropingly. We considered this phenomenon as "groping in response to a visual stimulus" of Denny-Brown. At the same time, the motor or praxic disorder of this patient consisted of paucity of movement. When she was told to imitate, her right upper extremity was hardly utilized, although later movements could be realized by her practice. When she was told to pour water from one glass into another, she used her left hand, although she used her right hand for spontaneous actions. So we considered this dyspraxia as a motor neglect of Casteigne.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)