Hemiplegic Group Research Articles

Unilateral hearing loss in hemiplegic patients.

Although there is abundant evidence that unilateral damage to the brain frequently results in contralateral elevation of tactile and visual thresholds, there is still disagreement over whether similar threshold changes occur for hearing. In the present study we report unilateral auditory thresholds for single stimuli in hemiplegic patients which provide evidence pertinent to this issue. Unilateral auditory thresholds were obtained for a group of 19 left hemiplegic patients and a group of 19 non-brain-damaged control patients matched for age, sex, and social antecedents. A comparative analysis of the auditory threshold levels in the hemiplegic and control groups indicated that although the two groups acheived similar threshold levels for the right ear the hemiplegic group showed a significantly higher threshold for the left ear than did the control group. Thresholds shown by individual patients revealed that while 9 hemiplegic patients showed threshold levels within the range of the normal controls, 10 of them showed elevation of thresholds for the left ear beyond the limits demonstrated by the control subjects. Thus, unilateral elevation of threshold was exhibited on the side opposite the lesion by 53 percent of the hemiplegic patients. The results obtained suggested that the auditory system is not unique among sense systems and that unilateral cerebral damage can result in contralateral threshold changes in audition as well as in somesthetic and visual sensibility.

Speed of Visual Perception in Aphasic and Non-Aphasic Patients with Hemiplegia

A series of 13 tests which required rapid identification (by underlining) of visual stimuli varying in complexity and verbal content was administered to 26 right hemiplegic patients with aphasia, 18 left hemiplegics without aphasia, and 25 control subjects with no brain damage. The purpose of the study was to obtain more information about the effects of lateralized cerebral lesions with respect to complexity and verbal content of visual stimuli. Simple response speed (speed of underlining consecutive rectangles) was held constant by analysis of covariance in the comparison of groups. Both hemiplegic groups were significantly slower than controls in identifying nonverbal figures on two subtests, and right hemiplegics were significantly slower than controls in identifying verbal figures on six subtests, on three of which they were also significantly slower than left hemiplegics. Further analysis revealed that within the right hemiplegic group, patients classified as posterior aphasic were most severely impaired and patients classified as anterior aphasic were impaired to about the same extent as left hemiplegics on both verbal and nonverbal tests. These findings provided further evidence of nonverbal perceptual deficit in aphasics, with the suggestion that the most severe deficits are restricted to a particular subclass of aphasic patient.

BENDER GESTALT TEST DISTORTIONS IN HEMIPLEGIA.

Drawings of Bender Gestalt Test figures by 16 left hemiplegics and 22 right hemiplegics were compared with those of 11 unilateral amputees who drew the figures with both their right hand and their left hand. The LH group showed systematic tilt in their drawings in a counterclockwise direction in both the vertical and horizontal planes as well as disturbances in the integration of vertical and horizontal planes. When the hemiplegic groups were combined, deviations on the BGT were found to be associated with deviations in judging a luminous line in a dark room. The findings suggest a rationale for some kinds of disturbances on the BGT. In addition, the LH group had significantly more rotations, omissions, and additions.