A Cognitive Neuropsychological Examination of the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System Subtests: A Report of Three Stroke Cases Studied Longitudinally During Recovery

Abstract

In this study three patients with unilateral focalized stroke lesions were examined longitudinally on the CAS subtests at 1 month and 6 months postinfarct such that each patient functioned as baseline. Patient 1 with a left temporal pole lesion had a severe syntactic comprehension deficit on Sentence Questions. Patient 2 had a rare right anterior cerebral artery (ACA) aneurysm culminating in a classical orbitofrontal syndrome and impairments on Expressive Attention, Word Series as well as a previously undescribed praxis-based figure ground reversal phenomenon on Figure Memory. Patient 3 suffered a right frontoparietal lesion with resulting representational as well as elements of motor neglect and impairments on Matching Numbers, Number Detection, and Receptive Attention. The three patient's lesions were all entirely consistent with the nature of cognitive neuropsychological symptoms suggesting that the CAS subtests are not only unique but also sensitive and specific to focalized cortical lesions.

Keywords:

• functional recovery
• orbitofrontal syndrome
• praxis-based figure ground reversal
• representational and motor neglect
• stroke lesions
• syntactic comprehension