title: The Lighthouse Strategy: use of a visual imagery technique to treat visual inattention in stroke patients.
abstract: Eight male and eight female stroke patients, aged 45-77, were asked to imagine their eyes as horizon-sweeping beams of a lighthouse and were then cued to use this image in functional and therapy training tasks as part of their treatment for visual inattention within a comprehensive day rehabilitation programme. Treatment Group patients' performance on the Mesulam Verbal Cancellation Test given at admission and discharge were significantly improved (p = 0.002). In comparison with controls matched for diagnoses, race and age, significant improvement (p = 0.007, f = 8.389) also occurred by discharge in the overall attention of patients taught to use the 'Lighthouse Strategy' as measured by a facility rating scale and reports by family and caregivers. Further potential applications of visual imagery to the retraining of compensatory cognitive and other skills are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sheltering Arms Day Rehabilitation Program, Hanover Site Mechanicsville, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Niemeier
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014796:Visual Perception