Mid-range visual functions in relation to higher-order visual functions after stroke.

Introduction: We aimed to investigate whether associations between deficits in "mid-range" visual functions and deficits in higher-order visual cognitive functions in stroke patients are more in line with a hierarchical, two-pathway model of the visual brain, or with a patchwork model, which assumes a parallel organization with many processing routes and cross-talk.

Methods: A group of 182 ischemic stroke patients was assessed with a new diagnostic set-up for the investigation of a comprehensive range of visuosensory mid-range functions: color, shape, location, orientation, correlated motion, contrast and texture. With logistic regression analyses we investigated the predictive value of these mid-range functions for deficits in visuoconstruction (Copy of the Rey-Complex Figure Test), visual emotion recognition (Ekman 60 Faces Test of the FEEST) and visual memory (computerized Doors-test).

Mid-range visual deficits after stroke: Prevalence and co-occurrence.

Visual deficits are common after stroke and are powerful predictors for the chronic functional outcome. However, while basic visual field and recognition deficits are relatively easy to assess with standardized methods, selective deficits in visual primitives, such as shape or motion, are harder to identify, as they often require a symmetrical bilateral posterior lesion in order to provoke full field deficits. Therefore, we do not know how often they occur.

The neural underpinnings of facial emotion recognition in ischemic stroke patients.

Deficits in facial emotion recognition occur frequently after stroke, with adverse social and behavioural consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the neural underpinnings of the recognition of emotional expressions, in particular of the distinct basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise). A group of 110 ischaemic stroke patients with lesions in (sub)cortical areas of the cerebrum was included.

Emotion Recognition and Traffic-Related Risk-Taking Behavior in Patients with Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Objectives: Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), such as Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and Huntington's disease, inevitably lead to impairments in higher-order cognitive functions, including the perception of emotional cues and decision-making behavior. Such impairments are likely to cause risky daily life behavior, for instance, in traffic. Impaired recognition of emotional expressions, such as fear, is considered a marker of impaired experience of emotions.

Impairments in Emotion Recognition and Risk-Taking Behavior After Isolated, Cerebellar Stroke.

An increasing amount of research has shown a cerebellar involvement in higher order cognitive functions, including emotional processing and decision-making. However, it has not been investigated whether impairments in facial emotion recognition, which could be a marker of impaired emotional experiences, are related to risky decision-making in these patients. Therefore, we aimed to investigate facial emotion recognition and risky decision-making in these patients as well as to investigate a relationship between these constructs.

A shrunken world - micropsia after a right occipito-parietal ischemic stroke.

Micropsia is a rare condition in which patients perceive the outside world smaller in size than it actually is. We examined a patient who, after a right occipito-parietal stroke, subjectively reported perceiving everything at seventy percent of the actual size. Using experimental tasks, we confirmed the extent of his micropsia at 70%.