Smith Alastair D, Buckley Matthew G
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
Cogn Process. 2012 Aug;13 Suppl 1:S329-32. doi: 10.1007/s10339-012-0505-5.
Whilst much is known about the neuropathological consequences of hydrocephalus, there have been comparatively few studies of the cognitive impairments associated with it. Studies using standardised tests of cognitive function have identified a general pattern of impairments, with patients exhibiting particular difficulty on tests of spatial memory and executive function. A strong prediction is that these deficits are likely to affect daily wayfinding behaviour, and we report a study of spatial and navigational abilities in a group of patients with hydrocephalus but without spina bifida. Participants completed a range of experimental tasks assessing spatial cueing behaviour, landmark memory and route-learning, and idiothetic path integration. This patient group was compared to a control sample matched on verbal, spatial, and intelligence measures, and hydrocephalus was found to be associated with relative impairments in each of the tasks. Patients exhibited reduced sensitivity to spatial cueing, less accurate route-learning, poorer memory for landmark objects, and less accurate spatial updating (with particular impairments in the calculation of heading). Overall, these data represent the first empirical demonstration of navigational impairments in hydrocephalus, and we suggest some of the cognitive, neural, and individual differences factors that may contribute to the pattern of performance reported.
虽然脑积水的神经病理学后果已为人所知，但对与之相关的认知障碍的研究相对较少。使用认知功能标准化测试的研究已经确定了一种普遍的损伤模式，患者在空间记忆和执行功能测试中表现出特别的困难。一个有力的预测是，这些缺陷可能会影响日常寻路行为，我们报告了一项对一组患有脑积水但没有脊柱裂的患者的空间和导航能力的研究。参与者完成了一系列评估空间线索行为、地标记忆和路线学习以及自身运动路径整合的实验任务。将该患者组与在语言、空间和智力测量方面匹配的对照样本进行比较，发现脑积水与每个任务中的相对损伤有关。患者对空间线索的敏感性降低，路线学习不准确，地标物体记忆较差，空间更新不准确（在航向计算方面有特别的损伤）。总体而言，这些数据首次实证证明了脑积水患者存在导航障碍，我们提出了一些可能导致所报告表现模式的认知、神经和个体差异因素。
