Article

A right-handed patient with a right parietal lesion has been investigated in order to understand the impact of the lesion on spatial cognition and to understand the impact of spatio-cognitive deficits at the micro- and macro-scale on spatial orientation and wayfinding. Wayfinding abilities, in terms of decision making and information processing, were measured by the patient having to reach a destination in a complex hospital setting. The results showed that wayfinding was not affected by the lesion; no deficiencies were apparent in decision making and developing a plan of action nor were there any observable information treatment difficulties. The patient was also able to learn routes. He could choose the right route configuration at first sight, but could not distinguish the faulty drawing when he tried to reason his choice. The patient completed the pointing task without difficulties, but showed a significant impairment in all operations of a micro-spatial nature, in particular tasks requiring a mental rotation. The observation that the right parietal lesion had a marked impact on basic micro-spatial abilities, but no impact on the micro-scale, suggests a dissociation between these two spatio-cognitive functions. According to our data, wyafinding abilities do not seem to be affected by deficiencies at the micro-spatial level.

Langue : ANGLAIS

Tiré à part : OUI

Identifiant basis : 2001214205