Anna Cantagallo

BrainCare · BrainCare

Mechanisms underlying the self/other distinction have been mainly investigated focusing on visual, tactile or proprioceptive cues, whereas very little is known about the contribution of acoustical information. Here the ability to distinguish between self and others' voice is investigated by using a neuropsychological approach. Right (RBD) and left...

Blindsight, i.e., unconscious visually guided behaviour triggered by stimuli presented to a cortically blind hemifield, has been typically found either by using direct (forced choice) or indirect (interhemispheric) methods. However, one would expect to find blindsight also in fast responses to suddenly appearing visual stimuli, a reminiscence of ev...

Objective: Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN) commonly occurs after lesions in the right hemisphere. This complex syndrome can be defined as a failure to report, respond, or orient to contralateral stimuli. Patients show several symptoms in everyday life, such as eating only on the right side of the plate, or forgetting to look left before crossing t...

In Motor Neglect (MN) syndrome, a specific impairment in non-congruent bimanual movements has been described. In the present case-control study, we investigated the neuro-functional correlates of this behavioral deficit. Two right-brain-damaged (RBD) patients, one with (MN+) and one without (MN−) MN, were evaluated by means of functional Magnetic R...

Hemispatial neglect due to right parieto-temporo-frontal lesions has a negative impact on the success of rehabilitation, resulting in poor functional gain. Recent research has shown that different types of neglect can impact in a different way on rehabilitation outcomes. The availability of a sensitive test, useful for distinguishing egocentric and...

The aim of our study was to identify the common and separate mechanisms that might underpin emotion recognition impairment in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and schizophrenia (Sz) compared with healthy controls (HCs). We recruited 21 Sz outpatients, 24 severe TBI outpatients, and 38 HCs, and we used eye-tracking to compare facial emotio...

The capability of quickly (as soon as possible-ASAP) producing fast uncorrected and accurate isometric force impulses was examined to assess the motor efficiency of patients with moderate to severe TBI and good motor recovery at a clinical evaluation. Twenty male right-handed patients with moderate to severe TBI and twenty-four age-matched healthy...

Materials and methods One TBI and one Stroke patients with lesions in their right or left hemisphere were recruited.Two healthy comparison subjects, similar in age to the patients, were recruited. Clinical and demographical characteristics of the participants are summarized in Table 1. Each patient was assessed using a protocol that includes cognit...

Prospective memory (PM) refers to memory for future intentions and is critically linked to independent living. Previous laboratory research has shown that people who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) have difficulties with PM, but few of these have used measures of PM that closely represent the types of PM activities that occur in every...

Time management skills are required for most daily activities. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients often present with cognitive dysfunction, but few studies have investigated temporal impairment. The aim of the present study was to assess temporal abilities in TBI patients using a time discrimination task. Twenty-seven TBI patients (ages = 18-60...

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the cont...

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the cont...

To investigate implicit olfactory abilities in a group of anosmic traumatic brain injured (TBI) patients, an olfactomotor priming paradigm was administered. A group of matched normosmic/mildly microsmic TBI patients and a group of neurologically healthy participants served as controls. For all the groups, an interference effect was evident on the p...

Anomic aphasia is a disturbance affecting lexical retrieval. Nonetheless, persons with this disorder may also experience difficulties in the construction of coherent narratives. Whether this symptom is a sign of a macrolinguistic difficulty per se or reflects the lexical disorder is still an open debate. In order to analyze the effect of the lexica...

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform a future action at a specified later time, which is investigated through the use of event-based and time-based tasks. Prior investigations have found that PM is impaired following traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, there is limited information regarding the cognitive functions that m...

Selective neurological impairments can shed light on different aspects of motor cognition. Brain-damaged patients with anosognosia for hemiplegia deny their motor deficit and believe they can still move the paralysed limb. Here we study, for the first time, if the anomalous subjective experience that their affected hand can still move, may have obj...

Apraxia is a higher level motor deficit that occurs when processing a goal-directed action. The apraxic deficit can manifest itself in absence of sensory input deficits or motor output deficits, neglect, frontal inertia or dementia. According to a clinical classification still largely in use, there are two main forms of limb apraxia: ideomotor (IMA...

Many studies reveal that neglect is a major cause of disability in stroke patients, and two months from onset neglect is still present in approximately 50% of individuals with a right brain lesion. Among the various methods of neglect rehabilitation, we have turned our attention to the prism adaptation treatment, developed by Rossetti in 1998. This...

Selective neurological impairments can shed light on different aspects of motor cognition. Brain-damaged patients with anosognosia for hemiplegia deny their motor deficit and believe they can still move the paralysed limb. Here we study, for the first time, if the anomalous subjective experience that their affected hand can still move, may have obj...

Gli esiti disabilitanti dei Traumi Cranio-Encefalici (TCE) moderati o lievi rappresentano un problema di notevole rilevanza sanitaria e sociale nelle società moderne. Va considerata l’elevata incidenza e prevalenza, specialmente tra adulti e giovani in piena età scolastica o lavorativa. Inoltre, la numerosità e complessità delle conseguenze di tipo...

Il Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), istituito con la legge 833/78 [1], identifica tra gli obiettivi: a. la prevenzione delle malattie e degli infortuni in ogni ambito di vita e di lavoro; b. la diagnosi e la cura degli eventi morbosi, quali che ne siano le cause, la fenomenologia e la durata; c. la riabilitazione degli stati di invalidità e di i...

L’aprassia è un disturbo primitivo dell’attività motoria che insorge durante l’esecuzione di un movimento finalizzato, avviato intenzionalmente per compiere un’azione o un gesto, sulla scorta di uno scopo. Il disturbo aprassico può manifestarsi in assenza di deficit di input, quali alterazioni degli organi di senso (sordità, cecità, anestesia tatti...

Il volume presenta i lavori di revisione della letteratura relativa alla riabilitazione neuropsicologica effettuati come lavoro preparatorio per la Consensus Conference sulla Riabilitazione neuropsicologica che si è tenuta a Siena nel febbraio del 2010 sotto gli auspici di una serie di associazioni e società scientifiche e professionali. L’approcci...

We investigated the cognitive processes underlying inferential reasoning, comparing performance of patients suffering from schizophrenia with that of patients with brain injury in an attempt to understand the nature of the social impairments in schizophrenia. Inferential reasoning on mental and physical states and second-order false belief attribut...

The present evidence-based review systematically examines the literature on the neuropsychological rehabilitation of attentional and executive dysfunctions in patients with acquired brain lesions. Four areas are considered: 1) neuropsychological rehabilitation of attentional disorders; 2) neuropsychological rehabilitation of neglect disorders; 3) n...

SOMMARIO: 1. La consapevolezza di sé – 2. La consapevolezza di sé nelle sindromi neurologiche – 3. La valutazione della consapevolezza di sé – 4. Caratteristiche dei deficit della consapevolezza di sé nei diversi gruppi clinici – 5. Aree neuro-anatomiche implicate nella consapevolezza di sé – 6. Modelli teorici della consapevolezza di sé – 7. Concl...

Background: The observation of actions performed by others activate in an observer the same neural structures (including mirror neurons) as when he/she actually performs the same actions. Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess whether action observation treatment may improve upper limb motor impairment in chronic stroke patients. Desig...

A reduction in congruency effects under working memory (WM) load has been previously described using different attentional paradigms (e.g., Kim, Kim, & Chun, 2005; Smilek, Enns, Eastwood, & Merikle, 2006). One hypothesis is that different types of WM load have different effects on attentional selection, depending on whether a specific memory load d...

To characterize neuropsychiatric symptoms in a large group of individuals with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to correlate these symptoms with demographic, clinical, and functional features. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), a frequently used scale to assess behavioral, emotional, and motivational disorders in persons with neurological...

The pervasiveness of word-finding difficulties in aphasia has motivated several theories regarding management of the deficit and its effectiveness. Recently, the hypothesis was advanced that instead of simply accompanying speech gestures participate in language production by increasing the semantic activation of words grounded in sensory-motor feat...

Previous studies on patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and diffuse brain damages have reported selective deficits in mental states reasoning or 'Theory of Mind' (ToM). The goal of the current study is to investigate the fundamental role of the prefrontal cortex in two ToM components: inferential reasoning and social perception. Selective...

Patients with anarchic hand (AH) syndrome exhibit involuntary but seemingly purposeful controlesional upper limb movements. Here we report on the case of a patient (AC) presenting with a right AH following a left medial frontal lesion. Previous literature indicated that endogenous movements, particularly in the presence of distractors, are impaired...

To determine if people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) display deficits in dual tasking ability. Observational and correlational research design used, to identify and describe the nature of dual task impairment in people with TBI. Eighty-six people with TBI were assessed using a new standardized paper-and-pencil assessment of dual tasking ability...

Broca's area has been considered, for over a century, as the brain centre responsible for speech production. Modern neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence have suggested a wider functional role is played by this area. In addition to the evidence that it is involved in syntactical analysis, mathematical calculation and music processing, it has...

To investigate whether the processing of the visual appearance of one's own body, that is the corporeal self is a unified or modular function we submitted eight right brain-damaged (RBD) patients and a group of fourteen age-matched neurologically healthy subjects, to a visual matching-to-sample task testing for corporeal self processing. If corpore...

Prior research suggests that the Iowa Gambling task is performed poorly by individuals with lesions in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). The current study investigated whether impaired performance in individuals with frontal lobe damage is determined by the existence of VMPFC lesions. A total of 14 participants with VMPFC lesions and 6 pa...

A classical approach to neglect syndrome evaluation is generally based on visual scanning tasks. Due to its laboratory-based approach, neglect assessment generally failed to individuate patient¿s behavior impairments in everyday contexts. Simultaneously, the introduction of computer-based interactive simulations provides the possibility to have a...

The study aimed at developing a new valid measure of disability in TBI outpatients. The Rasch model (Winsteps 3.45 software, 2005) was adopted to achieve a linear measure, unidimensional and reliable. The predictive capacity with respect to return to school or job was also tested (logistic regression, STATA 8.0 software, 2004). Either tests of Atte...

There is increasing evidence to support the idea that visuo-spatial working memory can be segregated into separate cognitive subsystems. However, the nature of these systems remains unclear. In this paper we report data from two brain injured patients suggesting that information about visual appearance is retained in a different subsystem from info...

Two experiments (one with healthy adult volunteers and the other with controls and dysexecutive patients) assessed the impact of interruptions on a novel test of multitasking. The test involved switching repeatedly between four tasks (block construction, bead threading, paper folding, alphabetical searching) over a 10 min period. In Experiment 1, t...

The study aimed to characterize neuropsychiatric symptomatology and its evolution in a large group of poststroke patients during their first year. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was administered to a sample of 124 poststroke patients, divided into three independent groups on the basis of time from stroke (2, 6 and 12 months). The controls wer...

In a multicenter European approach, the efficacy of the AIXTENT computerized training programs for intensity aspects (alertness and vigilance) and selectivity aspects (selective and divided attention) of attention was studied in 33 patients with brain damage of vascular and traumatic etiology. Each patient received training in one of two most impai...

Aims. Neuropsychiatric disorders following traumatic brain injury (TBI) are very common both in the clinical practice and in the literature. It's known that cerebral impairments modify the biological and psychological status of a person, therefore they induce temporary or permanent changes in both emotional and motivational behaviours. Aim of this...

Apart from a few, encouraging, single-case studies, evidence of imagery-based mnemonics for the rehabilitation of memory in brain-damaged individuals is sparse. The literature suggests that if imagery is of any use, then it should be applied to mildly memory impaired patients, the learning process should be tailored and a direct transfer training t...

To determine which outcome measures are best and least suited for assessing long-term functional outcome of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the community. Survey of participants in the community an average of 5 years after TBI. A battery of outcome measures was given. Community in northern California after inpatient rehabilitation....

Background. Brain lesions are among the main causes of disability among the young. Of all the day-to-day activities which give greater autonomy back to patients after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), driving a motorcar again is one of the principal objectives. Driving is one of our most complex activities, due to the integration of cognitive, behavi...

A comprehensive assessment of both selective (focused attention, divided attention) and intensive (alertness and vigilance) attentional processes was performed on 106 patients with closed head injury using a computerised battery for the evaluation of attention. All patients were tested at least five months after their accident. A high percentage of...

Background. The aim of this study is to investigate statistical and clinical characteristics across measures, especially sensitivity to outcome issues in the community and relationships between measures. Methods. We assessed forty Italian adult individuals with prior moderate to severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), who had received inpatient rehabi...

Adaptive behavior guided by unconscious visual cues occurs in patients with various kinds of brain damage as well as in normal observers, all of whom can process visual information of which they are fully unaware [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]. Little is known on the possibility that unconscious vision is influenced by visual cues that have access...

The present study describes a patient, M.L., with right orbitofrontal lesion, who showed no impairment on main neuropsychological tests, including those measuring frontal functions. Nevertheless, he had deeply affected emotional responses. In line with Damasio's work, the patient had lower skin conductance during the projection of a standardized se...

Several episodes of dissociative disorder, including depersonalization and multiple personality, have been observed in a 32-year old man during a period of a few months following a mild traumatic brain injury. The psychogenic or organic aetiology of these psychiatric disorders remains undetermined. This case highlights the need to consider dissocia...

Twenty-four patients, showing a good clinical recovery from coma-inducing injury and coping well with the activities of everyday living, were tested, at least 1 year after trauma, on motor speed and reaction time, and given a neuropsychological examination. While the patients generally performed within the normal range on the neuropsychological tes...

Several reports of cases of experienced artists showing neglect after a brain lesion can be gleaned from the literature. The analysis of their drawings might provide better insight into the symptoms of neglect than that of non-artists's production. However, most of these reports are anedoctal. We describe in some detail the case of neglect of a dis...

The Functional Assessment Measure (FAM) has been proposed as a measure of disability in post-acute Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) outpatients. It is comprised of the 18 items of The Functional Independence Measure (FIMSM), scored in terms of dependence, and of 12 newly designed items, scored in terms of dependence (7 items) or performance (5 items)....

The course of a patient affected by the phenomenon of "anarchic hand" (AH) is de scribed. The patient had an ischemic lesion involving the left frontomesial cortex and the corpus callosum with a transitory AH of the left hand and later a chronic right AH. The signs of callosal disconnection and the involvement of the supplementary motor area were r...

We describe one patient with acquired dysgraphia who showed spelling errors (mainly deletions and substitutions), both for words and non-words, across all output modalities (oral and written spelling, and delayed copying). Spelling accuracy was not affected by lexical factors, but was a function of word length. The patient's performance in oral and...

A patient presented left-sided apraxia, constructional disturbances with the right hand and left tactile anomia after a severe head injury. MRI showed a callosal lesion involving the middle and posterior third of the truncus. This finding supports the thesis that the posterior callosum plays a predominant role in the interhemispheric mediation for...