A case of developmental topographical disorientation: impact on diagnostic trajectory and everyday life.

Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD) refers to impaired ability to create and consult mental maps in the absence of neurological abnormalities. We present the case study of I.S.

A clinical guide to assessment of navigation impairment: Standardized subjective and objective instruments and normative data.

Objective: Problems with finding one's way around are frequently reported by neurological patients. However, no dedicated standardized tools exist to assess whether such reports indicate navigation impairment or not. We provide a standardized three-step method to assess navigation ability in neurological patients, based on two recently developed diagnostic tools and normative data.

Quality of self-reported cognition: effects of age and gender on spatial navigation self-reports.

Subjective measures of cognitive abilities are often used in various environments, such as clinical, experimental, and professional settings. Here, we assess the quality of such measures, specifically looking into the impact of age and gender. Spatial navigation ability will be used as an exemplary case, given its large individual variation and relevance to the healthy aging process.

Large-scale assessment of human navigation ability across the lifespan.

Navigation ability is particularly sensitive to aging. Evidence of aging patterns is largely restricted to comparing young adults and elderly and limited in the variety of navigation tasks used. Therefore, we designed a novel task battery to assess navigation ability in a very large, representative sample (N = 11,887, 8-100 years).

How age relates to spatial navigation performance: Functional and methodological considerations.

Aging effects have often been reported for spatial navigation performance. Moreover, navigation performance is thought to be an early marker of pathological aging. Yet, the cognitive complexity of navigation and large individual variation in healthy population make it difficult to pinpoint the precise aging mechanisms involved.

Memory for novel and familiar environments relies on the hippocampus: A case study on a patient with a right anteromesial temporal lobectomy.

While the hippocampus has been ascribed a prominent role in navigation ability, it is still a subject of debate whether it contributes to learning novel environments only or to remembering familiar environments as well. We attempt to shed light on this issue by reporting on a patient who developed complaints of severe difficulties with navigation after she underwent a right anteromesial temporal lobectomy. A standard neuropsychological assessment revealed only a visuospatial working memory deficit.

A systematic investigation of navigation impairment in chronic stroke patients: Evidence for three distinct types.

Objective: In a recent systematic review, Claessen and van der Ham (2017) have analyzed the types of navigation impairment in the single-case study literature. Three dissociable types related to landmarks, locations, and paths were identified. This recent model as well as previous models of navigation impairment have never been verified in a systematic manner.

Landmark Agnosia: Evaluating the Definition of Landmark-based Navigation Impairment.

Objective: Landmark agnosia is a rare type of navigation impairment, for which various definitions have been presented. From a clinical as well as theoretical perspective, consensus on the characteristics of landmark agnosia would be valuable. In the current study we review the literature concerning landmark agnosia and present a new case study.

Classification of navigation impairment: A systematic review of neuropsychological case studies.

The neurocognitive architecture of navigation ability has been investigated by extensively studying the navigation problems of individual neurological patients. These neuropsychological case reports have applied highly variable approaches to establish navigation impairment in their patients. This review provides a systematic and up-to-date inventory of all relevant case studies and presents an analysis of the types of navigation impairments that have been described.

The Wayfinding Questionnaire as a Self-report Screening Instrument for Navigation-related Complaints After Stroke: Internal Validity in Healthy Respondents and Chronic Mild Stroke Patients.

Objective: In current stroke care, cognitive problems are usually diagnosed in a stepwise manner. More specifically, screening instruments are first applied to support healthcare professionals in deciding whether a second step (an extensive assessment) would be appropriate. None of the existing screening instruments, however, takes navigation ability into account.

Dissociating spatial and spatiotemporal aspects of navigation ability in chronic stroke patients.

Objective: The notion of distinguishable processing mechanisms for spatial and spatiotemporal information has largely been neglected in the context of navigation. Only a recent neuropsychological case study has provided initial evidence for the idea that these elements can be differentiated at a functional level. The aim of the current study was therefore to critically verify this double dissociation by adopting a systematic, large-scale approach.

A Direct Comparison of Real-World and Virtual Navigation Performance in Chronic Stroke Patients.

Objectives: An increasing number of studies have presented evidence that various patient groups with acquired brain injury suffer from navigation problems in daily life. This skill is, however, scarcely addressed in current clinical neuropsychological practice and suitable diagnostic instruments are lacking. Real-world navigation tests are limited by geographical location and associated with practical constraints.

Navigation strategy training using virtual reality in six chronic stroke patients: A novel and explorative approach to the rehabilitation of navigation impairment.

Recent studies have shown that navigation impairment is a common complaint after brain injury. Effective training programmes aiming to improve navigation ability in neurological patients are, however, scarce. The few reported programmes are merely focused on recalling specific routes rather than encouraging brain-damaged patients to use an alternative navigation strategy, applicable to any route.

Computerization of the standard corsi block-tapping task affects its underlying cognitive concepts: a pilot study.

The tablet computer initiates an important step toward computerized administration of neuropsychological tests. Because of its lack of standardization, the Corsi Block-Tapping Task could benefit from advantages inherent to computerization. This task, which requires reproduction of a sequence of movements by tapping blocks as demonstrated by an examiner, is widely used as a representative of visuospatial attention and working memory.