title: Idiothetic orientation and path integration in unilateral hippocampal atrophy and sclerosis.
abstract: We determined the effects of hippocampal lesions on idiothetic spatial orientation by exposing 14 patients with unilateral hippocampal atrophy and/or sclerosis (HAS) and 10 normal controls to random rotational displacements (+/-30 degrees -180 degrees ) in darkness and examined their ability to rotate themselves back to the initial position. In comparison to controls, the patients responses were distinctly hypometric (p<0.005). Patients with right hippocampal lesions showed a trend towards higher come back errors p = 0.08). Normal controls could maintain their accuracy over five consecutive trials. Patients, beginning with less accuracy, showed significant improvement after each trial (p<0.001). The findings suggest that unilateral HAS impair the immediate recall of idiothetic spatial information, but does not affect long-term spatial learning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurology, University Hospital of Vienna, Austria. wiesge1@akh-wien.ac.at
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wiest
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glück
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deecke
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baumgartner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy; D003624:Darkness; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D012598:Sclerosis