Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; Center for Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Neuropsychologia. 2017 Dec;107:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.032. Epub 2017 Oct 28.
Broad cognitive difficulties have been reported in patients with peripheral vestibular deficit, especially in the domain of spatial cognition. Processing and manipulating numbers relies on the ability to use the inherent spatial features of numbers. It is thus conceivable that patients with acute peripheral vestibular deficit show impaired numerical cognition. Using the number Stroop task and a short math achievement test, we tested 20 patients with acute vestibular neuritis and 20 healthy, age-matched controls. On the one hand, patients showed normal congruency and distance effects in the number Stroop task, which is indicative of normal number magnitude processing. On the other hand, patients scored lower than healthy controls in the math achievement test. We provide evidence that the lower performance cannot be explained by either differences in prior math knowledge (i.e., education) or slower processing speed. Our results suggest that peripheral vestibular deficit negatively affects numerical cognition in terms of the efficient manipulation of numbers. We discuss the role of executive functions in math performance and argue that previously reported executive deficits in patients with peripheral vestibular deficit provide a plausible explanation for the lower math achievement scores. In light of the handicapping effects of impaired numerical cognition in daily living, it is crucial to further investigate the mechanisms that cause mathematical deficits in acute PVD and eventually develop adequate means for cognitive interventions.
患者的外周前庭功能受损，尤其是在空间认知领域，其认知能力受到广泛影响。处理和操纵数字依赖于使用数字固有空间特征的能力。因此，可以想象急性外周前庭功能受损的患者会出现数字认知障碍。我们使用数字斯特鲁普任务和一个简短的数学成就测试，测试了 20 名急性前庭神经炎患者和 20 名年龄匹配的健康对照组。一方面，患者在数字斯特鲁普任务中表现出正常的一致性和距离效应，这表明他们的数字大小处理正常。另一方面，患者在数学成就测试中的得分低于健康对照组。我们的研究结果表明，较低的表现不能用先前的数学知识（即教育）差异或较慢的处理速度来解释。我们的结果表明，外周前庭功能受损会影响数字认知，影响数字的有效操作。我们讨论了执行功能在数学表现中的作用，并认为外周前庭功能受损患者先前报道的执行功能缺陷为数学成就评分较低提供了一个合理的解释。鉴于受损的数字认知在日常生活中的致残影响，深入研究导致急性 PVD 患者出现数学缺陷的机制，并最终开发出适当的认知干预手段至关重要。
