[Neuropsychological manifestations of secondary brain stem dysfunction in patients with strokes of hemispheric...

A neuropsychological investigation of 35 patients who had suffered cerebral strokes of hemispheric localization aggravated by secondary dysfunctions of the upper portions of the cerebral trunk was carried out. Neuropsychological examination was supplemented with emotional stimulation methods aimed at detecting superior trunk impairments. The neuropsychological signs of trunk dysfunction are discussed. Even in a favourable course of the stroke, the manifestations of secondary trunk dysfunctions tended to last 2-4 weeks and were more severe in patients with an unsatisfactory somatic state. The author emphasized the necessity of differentiating neuropsychological syndromes due to a principal hemispheric focus from neuropsychological manifestations of secondary trunk dysfunctions.