Effects of early focal brain injury on memory for visuospatial patterns: selective deficits of global-local processing.
Selective deficits in visuospatial processing are present early in development among children with perinatal focal brain lesions (PL). Children with right hemisphere PL (RPL) are impaired in configural processing, while children with left hemisphere PL (LPL) are impaired in featural processing. Deficits associated with LPL are less pervasive than those observed with RPL, but this difference may reflect the structure of the tasks used for assessment. Many of the tasks used to date may place greater demands on configural processing, thus highlighting this deficit in the RPL group. This study employed a task designed to place comparable demands on configural and featural processing, providing the opportunity to obtain within-task evidence of differential deficit. Sixty-two 5- to 14-year-old children (19 RPL, 19 LPL, and 24 matched controls) reproduced from memory a series of hierarchical forms (large forms composed of small forms). Global- and local-level reproduction accuracy was scored. Controls were equally accurate on global- and local-level reproduction. Children with RPL were selectively impaired on global accuracy, and children with LPL on local accuracy, thus documenting a double dissociation in global-local processing.
Stiles
Joan
J
University of California, San Diego, Department of Cognitive Science.
Stern
Catherine
C
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, School of Medicine, Brown University.
Appelbaum
Mark
M
Department of Psychology, University of California.
Nass
Ruth
R
Department of Neurology, New York University Medical Center.
Trauner
Doris
D
Departments of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California.
Hesselink
John
J
Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California.
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*