Modulation of somatoparaphrenia following left-hemisphere damage

ABSTRACT

Somatoparaphrenic symptoms after left-hemisphere damage are rare. To verify the potential role of body-related sensory (proprioceptive, visual, and somatosensory) manipulation in patients experiencing sensations of hand disownership, the symptoms of a patient suffering from right-hand somatoparaphrenia were monitored and clinical and neuropsychological variables were controlled. Four types of manipulation were administered: changes in spatial position of the hand, multisensory stimulation, and self-observation using video or mirrors. Multisensory visuo-tactile stimulation was efficacious in terms of reducing somatoparaphrenia, and changes in the position of the hand produced some positive effects. Third-person perspective self-observation did not, however, result in any changes.

KEYWORDS:

• Disturbed sensation of limb ownership
• body awareness
• Gertmann’s syndrome
• rehabilitation
• somatoparaphrenia after a left-hemisphere lesion

Acknowledgments

We thank AS for her kindness and her willing participation in our study. We also thank Akaterini Fotopoulou for her suggestions in our preliminary, unformal discussion of the single case, and Sara Bertagnoli for her help in lesion analysis. This work was funded by the University of Verona (Bando Ricerca di Base 2015 – MOTO: MOdulaTion Of Peripersonal Space) and by MIUR (PRIN 2015 – Prot. 20159CZFJK) to V.M.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Verona [Bando Ricerca di Base 2015 – MOTO: MOdulaTion Of]; Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca [PRIN 2015 - Prot. 20159CZFJK].