Visual perceptual deficits and their contribution to walking dysfunction in individuals with post-stroke visual neglect

ABSTRACT

Background: Unilateral spatial neglect (USN), a highly prevalent and disabling post-stroke deficit, severely affects functional mobility. Visual perceptual abilities (VPAs) are essential in activities involving mobility. However, whether and to what extent post-stroke USN affects VPAs and how they contribute to mobility impairments remains unclear. Objectives: To estimate the extent to which VPAs in left and right visual hemispaces are (1) affected in post-stroke USN; and (2) contribute to goal-directed locomotion. Methods: Individuals with (USN+, n = 15) and without (USN-, n = 15) post-stroke USN and healthy controls (HC, n = 15) completed (1) psychophysical evaluation of contrast sensitivity, optic flow direction and coherence, and shape discrimination; and (2) goal-directed locomotion tasks. Results: Higher discrimination thresholds were found for all VPAs in the USN+ group compared to USN- and HC groups (p < 0.05). Psychophysical tests showed high sensitivity in detecting deficits in individuals with a history of USN or with no USN on traditional assessments, and were found to be significantly correlated with goal-directed locomotor impairments. Conclusion: Deficits in VPAs may account for the functional difficulties experienced by individuals with post-stroke USN. Psychophysical tests used in the present study offer important advantages and can be implemented to enhance USN diagnostics and rehabilitation.

KEYWORDS:

• Hemineglect
• Cerebrovascular accident
• Optic flow
• Contrast sensitivity
• Shape discrimination
• Visual perception

View correction statement:

Correction to: Ogourtsova T., Visual perceptual deficits and their contribution to walking dysfunction in individuals with post-stroke visual neglect

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge all study participants as well as Gevorg Chilingaryan (Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Laval, Quebec, Canada) for the assistance with statistical analysis and Dr. David Nguyen (Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) for the design of the psychophysical experiments and consultation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Philippe S. Archambault http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8656-4477

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors. Please see Erratum (https://doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2018.1472724)

Additional information

Funding

T.O. was supported by the Richard & Edith Strauss Fellowship in Rehabilitation Sciences (2014–2016) and The Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS, 2016–2018). This project was supported by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (MOP – 77548) and A.L. and P.S.A. are recipients of Research Scientist FRQS Salary Awards.