Aprosodia Secondary to Right Hemisphere Damage

Author(s):  
Amy D. Rodriguez

Abstract Purpose: This article introduces two types of prosody in human communication; describes right hemisphere contributions to prosody; describes prosodic deficits associated with right hemisphere damage; and discusses prevalence, quality of life, spontaneous recovery, and treatment of aprosodia. Method: Definitions of affective and linguistic prosody and aprosodia are provided. Results of lesion studies and neuroimaging studies are reviewed to inform the reader of the importance of the right hemisphere in prosody expression and comprehension, as well as to describe patterns of prosodic deficits in individuals with right hemisphere damage. Results and Conclusions: There is a large body of evidence supporting the role of the right hemisphere in affective prosody comprehension and production. Specifically, frontal brain regions and the basal ganglia are associated with aprosodia, suggesting there may be an underlying motor impairment. Because aprosodia is enduring and can impact quality of life, it is important to gain a better understanding of this disorder so that clinicians can accurately diagnose prosodic deficits and provide informed treatment.

Author(s):  
C Iorio-Morin ◽  
P Goffaux ◽  
M Descoteau ◽  
K Whittingstall ◽  
D Fortin

Background: Because glioblastoma is currently incurable, the goal of therapy is the optimization of the patient’s quality of life (QOL). Tumor location is critical in screening surgical candidates, yet the impact of tumor location on QOL has never been demonstrated. By using a novel computer-driven algorithm, we set out to investigate the impact of tumor location on QOL. Methods: The tumors of fourty consecutive glioblastoma patients were segmented and the Euclidian distance between 90 brain regions and each tumor’s margin was calculated and correlated to the patients’ self-reported QOL as measured by the SNAS questionnaire. Results: QOL was statistically associated with proximity to three areas: the right para-hypocampal gyrus, the right posterior cingulate cortex and the right postcentral gyrus. We postulate that the adverse relation between proximity to these areas and QOL results from disruption in large-scale networks involved in high-order functions such as visuospatial memory. While harder to detect with a bedside clinical examination, such deficits are likely more impactful on QOL than those related to the motor cortex or Broca’s area. Conclusions: Tumor proximity to right parietooccipital region are associated with decreased QOL. This should be considered in the management strategies of glioma patients.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (suppl 5) ◽  
pp. v190.4-v191
Author(s):  
Christian Iorio-Morin ◽  
Philippe Goffaux ◽  
Maxime Descoteau ◽  
Kevin Whittingstall ◽  
David Fortin

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Königsberg ◽  
Andrew T. DeMarco ◽  
Carola Mayer ◽  
Anke Wouters ◽  
Eckhard Schlemm ◽  
...  

AbstractStroke has a deleterious impact on quality of life. However, it is less well known if stroke lesions in different brain regions are associated with reduced quality of life (QoL). We therefore investigated this association by multivariate lesion-symptom mapping. We analyzed magnetic resonance imaging and clinical data from the WAKE-UP trial. European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) 3 level questionnaires were completed 90 days after stroke. Lesion symptom mapping was performed using a multivariate machine learning algorithm (support vector regression) based on stroke lesions 22–36 h after stroke. Brain regions with significant associations were explored in reference to white matter tracts. Of 503 randomized patients, 329 were included in the analysis (mean age 65.4 years, SD 11.5; median NIHSS = 6, IQR 4–9; median EQ-5D score 90 days after stroke 1, IQR 0–4, median lesion volume 3.3 ml, IQR 1.1–16.9 ml). After controlling for lesion volume, significant associations between lesions and EQ-5D score were detected for the right putamen, and internal capsules of both hemispheres. Multivariate lesion inference analysis revealed an association between injuries of the cortico-spinal tracts with worse self-reported quality of life 90 days after stroke in comparably small stroke lesions, extending previous reports of the association of striato-capsular lesions with worse functional outcome. Our findings are of value to identify patients at risk of impaired QoL after stroke.


Author(s):  
David Fortin ◽  
Christian Iorio-Morin ◽  
Anais Tellier ◽  
Philippe Goffaux ◽  
Maxime Descoteaux ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-68
Author(s):  
Sara E. Holm ◽  
Alexander Schmidt ◽  
Christoph J. Ploner

Abstract. Some people, although they are perfectly healthy and happy, cannot enjoy music. These individuals have musical anhedonia, a condition which can be congenital or may occur after focal brain damage. To date, only a few cases of acquired musical anhedonia have been reported in the literature with lesions of the temporo-parietal cortex being particularly important. Even less literature exists on congenital musical anhedonia, in which impaired connectivity of temporal brain regions with the Nucleus accumbens is implicated. Nonetheless, there is no precise information on the prevalence, causes or exact localization of both congenital and acquired musical anhedonia. However, the frequent involvement of temporo-parietal brain regions in neurological disorders such as stroke suggest the possibility of a high prevalence of this disorder, which leads to a considerable reduction in the quality of life.


1980 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Hier ◽  
Joni Kaplan

ABSTRACTWe have compared the verbal comprehension abilities of 34 right hemisphere damaged patients to 16 hospitalized control subjects of comparable age and educational attainment. The right hemisphere damaged patients performed as well as the control subjects on a vocabulary test, but were impaired in their ability to interpret proverbs and comprehend logico-grammatical sentences. Impairment on the proverbs test was the result of a decrease in the number of abstract interpretations, whereas impairment on the logico-grammatical sentence comprehension test was related to difficultes in grasping spatial and passive relationships. These comprehension impairments tended to correlate with visuospatial deficits and hemianopia, but not with the degree of hemiparesis or the presence of sensory extinction. Patients with anterior right hemisphere damage performed better on the logico-grammatical sentence conprehension test than patients with posterior damage. A variety of factors probably contribute to these verbal deficits including impaired intellect, inattention, an inability to grasp spatial relationships, and difficulties in manipulating the inner schemata of language.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jannika Dodge-Khatami ◽  
Ali Dodge-Khatami

Abstract Objectives: The mini right axillary thoracotomy is an alternative surgical approach to repair certain congenital heart defects. Quality-of-life metrics and clinical outcomes in children undergoing either the right axillary approach or median sternotomy were compared. Methods: Patients undergoing either approach for the same defects between 2018 and 2020 were included. Demographic details, operative data, and outcomes were compared between both groups. An abbreviated quality of life questionnaire based on the Infant/Toddler/Child Health Questionnaires focused on the patient’s global health, physical activity, and pain/discomfort was administered to all parents/guardians within two post-operative years. Results: Eighty-seven infants and children underwent surgical repair (right axillary thoracotomy, n = 54; sternotomy, n = 33) during the study period. There were no mortalities in either group. The right axillary thoracotomy group experienced significantly decreased red blood cell transfusion, intubation, intensive care, and hospital durations, and earlier chest tube removal. Up to 1 month, parents’ perception of their child’s degree and frequency of post-operative pain was significantly less after the right axillary thoracotomy approach. No difference was found in the patient’s global health or physical activity limitations beyond a month between the two groups. Conclusions: With the mini right axillary approach, surrogates of faster clinical recovery and hospital discharge were noted, with a significantly less perceived degree and frequency of post-operative pain initially, but without the quality of life differences at last follow-up. While providing obvious cosmetic advantages, the minimally invasive right axillary thoracotomy approach for the surgical repair of certain congenital heart lesions is a safe alternative to median sternotomy.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
BEATRICE MORING

The aim of this article is to explore the economic status and the quality of life of widows in the Nordic past, based on the evidence contained in retirement contracts. Analysis of these contracts also shows the ways in which, and when, land and the authority invested in the headship of the household were transferred between generations in the Nordic countryside. After the early eighteenth century, retirement contracts became more detailed but these should be viewed not as a sign of tension between the retirees and their successors but as a family insurance strategy designed to protect the interests of younger siblings of the heir and his or her old parents, particularly if there was a danger of the property being acquired by a non-relative. Both the retirement contracts made by couples and those made by a widow alone generally guaranteed them an adequate standard of living in retirement. Widows were assured of an adequately heated room of their own, more generous provision of food than was available to many families, clothing and the right to continue to work, for example at spinning and milking, but to be excused heavy labour. However, when the land was to be retained by the family, in many cases there was no intention of establishing a separate household.


2021 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. A18-A18
Author(s):  
Maria Teixeira-Dias ◽  
Amber Kaur Dadwal ◽  
Graham Blackman

Objectives/AimsFregoli syndrome is a rare delusion characterised by the misidentification of an individual, typically of someone who the patient has an emotional link towards. The pathoaetiology of Fregoli syndrome remains largely a mystery, however, it has been described in patients experiencing either a primary or secondary (organic) psychosis. We sought to compare the neuropsychiatric features of Fregoli syndrome in primary and secondary psychosis.MethodsA patient-level meta-analysis was conducted. Five databases were searched for any descriptions of Fregoli syndrome. The patients and the psychotic episodes details alongside the co-occurring neuropsychiatric features and treatment responses were extracted. A risk of bias assessment was carried by scoring the methodological quality of all case studies. Random-effects models were used to pool the data and odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated for each of the neuropsychiatric features extracted between primary and secondary psychoses groups.ResultsA total of 119 patients (62 with primary psychosis, 50 with secondary psychosis and 7 with mixed or unknown aetiology) with Fregoli syndrome were identified in the English literature. Persecutory features were more likely to occur in patients with primary Fregoli syndrome (OR = 0.26, 95% CI[0.10;0.67], p < 0.01). In addition, Fregoli syndrome in the context of a first-episode psychosis (OR = 11.00, 95% CI [2.45;49.39], p < 0.01) and in the presence of neuroimaging abnormalities (OR = 20.19, 95% CI [4.36; 93.47], p < 0.01) was significantly associated with secondary aetiology. Patients in the secondary psychosis group (n=14) showed more right hemisphere lesions than patients in the primary psychosis group (n=1), however this trend was not significant (p = 0.10). Furthermore, no statistical differences between psychoses groups were found for the demographic, clinical and neurophysiological features analysed.ConclusionsThis is the first meta-analysis investigating the features of Fregoli syndrome in primary and secondary psychosis.Findings suggest that secondary causes of Fregoli syndrome are associated with a first-episode of psychosis and that neuroimaging abnormalities, particularly in the right hemisphere, are associated with a secondary organic cause.


2014 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 405-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Weber Werle ◽  
Sibele Yoko Mattozo Takeda ◽  
Marise Bueno Zonta ◽  
Ana Tereza Bittencourt Guimarães ◽  
Hélio Afonso Ghizoni Teive

Objective : Describe the functional, clinical and quality of life (QoL) profiles in patients with cervical dystonia (CD) with residual effect or without effect of botulinum toxin (BTX), as well as verify the existence of correlation between the level of motor impairment, pain and QoL. Method : Seventy patients were assessed through the Craniocervical dystonia questionnaire-24 (CDQ-24) and the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS). Results : The greater the disability, pain and severity of dystonia, the worse the QoL (p<0.0001). Greater severity relates to greater disability (p<0.0001). Pain was present in 84% of the sample, being source of disability in 41%. The most frequent complaints were: difficulty in keeping up with professional and personal demands (74.3%), feeling uneasy in public (72.9%), hindered by pain (68.6%), depressed, annoyed or bitter (47.1%), lonely or isolated (32.9%). Conclusion : The physical, social and emotional aspects are the most affected in the QoL of these patients.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document