期刊名称：Journal of Psychiatry, Psychology and Mental Health
电子版ISSN：2150-7937
出版年度：2009
卷号：3
期号：01
出版社：Scientific Journals International
摘要：This study examines whether deficits in right-left orientation (rlo) exist on a larger scale in patients with right or left hemispheric brain injury compared to healthy controls, and also explores the connections between rlo and spatial abilities. A matched groups design was adopted to examine differences in the applied measures. Methods and Procedures A new measure of rlo was applied. Further tests were used covering visual memory, mental rotation, handedness, and visuo-construction. 69 healthy controls and 82 patients suffering from right (n=51) or left (n=31) hemispheric brain lesions were examined and tested individually during one hour periods. There were no significant differences in the performance of the rlo task. A significant difference was found in the visuo-constructive task between both patient groups and the controls. Patients with left hemispheric lesions scored lower than the controls in mental rotation. The prevalence of massive deficits in rlo was twice as high in the combined patient groups than in the controls. Theories of lateralization of rlo and spatial abilities were not supported. The groups did show differing patterns of intercorrelations. This gave rise to the idea of different compensatory strategies for solving spatial tasks resulting in comparable outcomes which was not confirmed in further analyses.
