Behavioural Neurology - Volume 18, issue 2

Authors: Braun, C.M.J. | Desjardins, S. | Gaudelet, S. | Guimond, A.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The psychic tonus model (Braun and colleagues, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006) states that the left hemisphere is a "booster" of internal experience and behavior in general, and that the right hemisphere is a "dampener". Twenty-five patients with a "positive" extreme disturbance of body schema (somatoparaphrenia) and 37 patients with a "negative" disturbance of body schema (autotopagnosia or Gerstmann's syndrome), all following a unilateral parietal lesion, were found in the literature and were analyzed to test …predictions from Braun's "psychic tonus" model. As expected, patients with a positive syndrome had a right hemisphere lesion significantly more frequently, and those with a negative syndrome had a left hemisphere lesion significantly more frequently. Thus the psychic tonus model of hemispheric specialization, previously supported with regard to psychomotor baseline, libido, talkativeness, memory, auditory and visual perceptual tonus, now incorporates the tonus of representation of the body (body schema) in the parietal lobes. Show more

Keywords: Body schema, psychic tonus, hemispheric specialization, parietal lesions, hypergnosia, hypognosia

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 65-80, 2007

Authors: Lima, Fabiana Souza | Simioni, Samanta | Bruggimann, Laure | Ruffieux, Christiane | Dudler, Jean | Felley, Christian | Michetti, Pierre | Annoni, Jean-Marie | Schluep, Myriam

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Acquired behavioral changes have essentially been described in advanced multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study was designed to determine whether behavioral modifications specifically related to the MS pathological process could be identified in the initial phase of the disease, as compared to control patients with chronic, relapsing and progressive inflammatory disorders not involving the central nervous system (CNS). Eighty-eight early MS patients (Expanded Disability Status Scale score ⩽ 2.5) and 48 controls …were tested. Perceived changes by informants in behavioral control, goal-directed behavior, decision making, emotional expression, insight and interpersonal relationships were assessed using the Iowa Scale of Personality Change (ISPC). Executive behavioral disturbances were screened using the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX). The mean change between the premorbid and postmorbid ISPC ratings was similar in the MS [12.2 (SD 15.6)] and in the control [11.5 (SD 15.1)] group. The perceived behavioral changes (PBCs) most frequently reported in both groups were lack of stamina, lability/moodiness, anxiety, vulnerability to stress and irritability. Pathological scores in the DEX were also similar in both groups. Correlations between PBCs and DEX scores were different in MS and control groups. MS patients with cognitive impairment had a marginally higher number of PBCs than control patients (p=0.056) and a significantly higher DEXp score (p=0.04). These results suggest that (1) PBCs occurring in early MS patients were not different from those induced by comparable chronic non-CNS disorders, (2) qualitative differences in the relationship between behavioral symptoms and executive-behavioral changes may exist between MS and control groups, and (3) behavioral symptoms seem associated with cognitive deficits in MS. We further plan to assess these observations longitudinally. Show more

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis, behavioral changes, Iowa Scale of Personality Change, Dysexecutive Questionnaire

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 81-90, 2007

Authors: Kim, HyangHee | Na, Duk L. | Park, Eun Sook

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Dysgraphia due to a focal brain lesion can be characterized by substitution, transposition, deletion and/or addition errors of graphemes or strokes. However, those linguistic errors can be language-specific because the writing system of a given language may influence error patterns. We investigated a Korean stroke patient, a 57-year-old English teacher with dysgraphia both in Korean Han-geul {(\psfig{figure=ben15901.eps,width=6mm})} and in English alphabet writings. The results of an experimental testing revealed transposition errors between …a consonant and a vowel only in English but not in Korean writings. This austerity of vowel-consonant position may be attributed to a unique Korean writing system of a spatially well-formed syllabic configuration or block with consonant(s) and a vowel. In light of a neuropsychological model of writing, which depicts a multi-level spelling and writing process, we suggest a spatial-constructional component of internal orthographic representations in Korean writing. This Korean graphemic configuration feature may be resistant to a focal, left cerebral damage, and thus, we also discuss our results in terms of cerebral lateralization of the writing processes. Show more

Keywords: Dysgraphia, writing, Korean, han-geul, English, consonant, vowel, spatial-constructional, internal orthographic representation

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 91-97, 2007

Authors: Sakurai, Yasuhisa | Onuma, Yoshinobu | Nakazawa, Gaku | Ugawa, Yoshikazu | Momose, Toshimitsu | Tsuji, Shoji | Mannen, Toru

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Objective: To characterize various dysgraphic symptoms in parietal agraphia. Method: We examined the writing impairments of four dysgraphia patients from parietal lobe lesions using a special writing test with 100 character kanji (Japanese morphograms) and their kana (Japanese phonetic writing) transcriptions, and related the test performance to a lesion site. Results: Patients 1 and 2 had postcentral gyrus lesions and showed character distortion and tactile agnosia, with patient 1 also having limb apraxia. …Patients 3 and 4 had superior parietal lobule lesions and features characteristic of apraxic agraphia (grapheme deformity and a writing stroke sequence disorder) and character imagery deficits (impaired character recall). Agraphia with impaired character recall and abnormal grapheme formation were more pronounced in patient 4, in whom the lesion extended to the inferior parietal, superior occipital and precuneus gyri. Conclusion: The present findings and a review of the literature suggest that: (i) a postcentral gyrus lesion can yield graphemic distortion (somesthetic dysgraphia), (ii) abnormal grapheme formation and impaired character recall are associated with lesions surrounding the intraparietal sulcus, the symptom being more severe with the involvement of the inferior parietal, superior occipital and precuneus gyri, (iii) disordered writing stroke sequences are caused by a damaged anterior intraparietal area. Show more

Keywords: Apraxic agraphia, parietal pure agraphia, intraparietal sulcus, limb apraxia, somatosensory area

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 99-114, 2007

Authors: Rodriguez, P. Dennis | Baylis, Gordon C.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Previous research investigating attention and impulse control in individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has largely ignored the symptomatic differences among the three subtypes of ADHD: ADHD-Inattentive Type, ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive Type, and ADHD-Combined Type. The present study examined attention and impulse control by focusing on these subtypes. Based on their self-reported symptoms of ADHD, participants belonged to one of four groups: ADHD-Inattentive, ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive, ADHD-Combined, and control. Cortical activity was recorded from participants …during performance of a Go/NoGo task. The event-related potentials (ERP) measured at frontal and posterior sites discriminated between the control group and participants with symptoms of ADHD. The control group consistently exhibited a higher P3 amplitude than all the ADHD groups. The main difference occurred at the frontal site, indicating that individuals with ADHD symptoms have deficits in the anterior attentional system, which mediates signal detection. Behavioral measures of signal sensitivity revealed that the ADHD-Inattentive and the ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive groups had more difficulty with the attention-demanding Go/NoGo respond-to-target task, while behavioral measures of response bias indicated that the ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive and the ADHD-Combined groups responded more liberally in the inhibition-demanding Go/NoGo suppress-to-target task. Show more

Keywords: ADHD, ADHD subtypes, ADHD symptoms, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ERP, Go/NoGo task

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 115-130, 2007

Authors: Seok, Jung Im | Lee, Dong Kuck | Kang, Min Gu | Park, Jae Han

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) and extrapontine myelinolysis (EPM) are well recognized syndromes related to the rapid correction of hyponatremia, which are reported to show brain stem signs and various movement disorders. Cognitive dysfunction and neuropsychological findings, however, have seldom been reported. Cognitive manifestations in osmotic myelinolysis may have been underestimated due to the prominent brain stem symptoms and movement disorders. We report a case of EPM without CPM and describe the neuropsychological …findings of EPM. The absence of CPM in this case made it possible to test neuropsychological function in the acute stage. Neuropsychological testing showed severe impairment of attention, verbal and visual memory, visuospatial function, and frontal/executive function. Language and language-related functions were normal except naming. Show more

Keywords: Extrapontine myelinolysis, neuropsychological, central pontine myelinolysis

Citation: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 131-134, 2007