title: The effect of contextual auditory stimuli on virtual spatial navigation in patients with focal hemispheric lesions.
abstract: Topographical disorientation is a frequent deficit among patients suffering from brain injury. Spatial navigation can be explored in this population using virtual reality environments, even in the presence of motor or sensory disorders. Furthermore, the positive or negative impact of specific stimuli can be investigated. We studied how auditory stimuli influence the performance of brain-injured patients in a navigational task, using the Virtual Action Planning-Supermarket (VAP-S) with the addition of contextual ("sonar effect" and "name of product") and non-contextual ("periodic randomised noises") auditory stimuli. The study included 22 patients with a first unilateral hemispheric brain lesion and 17 healthy age-matched control subjects. After a software familiarisation, all subjects were tested without auditory stimuli, with a sonar effect or periodic random sounds in a random order, and with the stimulus "name of product". Contextual auditory stimuli improved patient performance more than control group performance. Contextual stimuli benefited most patients with severe executive dysfunction or with severe unilateral neglect. These results indicate that contextual auditory stimuli are useful in the assessment of navigational abilities in brain-damaged patients and that they should be used in rehabilitation paradigms.
authors.affiliation: a Rehabilitation Medicine Unit and EA4136, University of Bordeaux , Bordeaux , France.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cogné
authors.affiliation: b Neuropsychology and Neurorehabilitation Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) , Lausanne , Switzerland.|c Department of Radiology and Department of Clinical Neurosciences , Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne , Lausanne , Switzerland.|d EEG Brain Brain Mapping Core, Centre for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM) , Lausanne , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Knebel
authors.affiliation: e Digital Interactions Health and Disability Lab, ESIEA , Laval , France.|f French Institute for Research on Handicap , Paris , France.
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Klinger
authors.affiliation: b Neuropsychology and Neurorehabilitation Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) , Lausanne , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bindschaedler
authors.affiliation: g Institution de Lavigny , Lavigny , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pierre-André
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Rapin
authors.affiliation: a Rehabilitation Medicine Unit and EA4136, University of Bordeaux , Bordeaux , France.|f French Institute for Research on Handicap , Paris , France.
authors.forename: Pierre-Alain
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: b Neuropsychology and Neurorehabilitation Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) , Lausanne , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clarke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*; D000076142:Virtual Reality; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adult brain injury; Executive functions; Neglect; Spatial navigation; Virtual reality