Developmental topographical disorientation in a healthy subject.
We present the case of F.G., a healthy, normally developed 22-year-old male subject affected by a pervasive disorder in environmental orientation and navigation who presents no history of neurological or psychiatric disease. A neuro-radiological examination showed no evidence of anatomical or structural alterations to the brain. We submitted the subject for a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment of the different cognitive processes involved in topographical orientation to evaluate his ability to navigate the spatial environment. The results confirmed a severe developmental topographical disorder and deficits in a number of specific cognitive processes directly or indirectly involved in navigation. The results are discussed with reference to the sole previously described case of developmental topographical disorientation (Pt1; Iaria et al., 2009). F.G. differs from the former case due to the following: the greater severity of his disorder, his complete lack of navigational skills, the failure to develop compensatory strategies, and the presence of a specific deficit in processing the spatial relationships between the parts of a whole. The present case not only confirms the existence of developmental topographical-skill disorders, but also sheds light on the architecture of topographical processes and their development in human beings.
Dipartimento Psicologia 39, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.
F
F
Bianchini
C
C
Incoccia
L
L
Palermo
L
L
Piccardi
L
L
Zompanti
U
U
Sabatini
Patrice
P
Peran
C
C
Guariglia
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003221:Confusion / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007360:Intelligence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult