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Query: UMLS:C0003635 (apraxia)
 2,817 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Following a cerebral vascular accident, a patient showed a classical disconnection syndrome: left-hand tactile anomia, apraxia and dysgraphia and right-hand constructional apraxia. What made the case unusual was the presence of hand asymmetry in the performance of some matching-to-sample tasks carried out in foveal vision. The left hand committed significantly more errors than the right hand when it was not possible to identify on a perceptual basis the stimulus that was to be matched, because it was removed (memory condition) or was indicated verbally (verbo-visual matching), or had the same name but not the same physical appearance as the match (capital and lower-case letter matching). No hand difference emerged when the stimulus remained in full view throughout the matching task (perceptual condition). The hand effect, however, was limited to colours and letters. Objects, geometrical shapes and unfamiliar faces were matched with equal proficiency by both hands under every condition of presentation. Left-hand errors also significantly outnumbered right-hand errors in sorting colours according to hue and colouring drawings. MRI showed an infarct in the left cingulate white matter that ran parallel to the trunk of the corpus callosum, and an infarct of the splenium. However, the latter did not prevent the transmission of colour and letter information between the two hemispheres, as shown by the performance on perceptual equivalence tasks and by the correct right-hand responses to stimuli projected to the left visual field. We propose that this pattern of deficit is contingent upon the specific role that the left hemisphere plays in categorizing a given colour patch as belonging to a definite colour region (red, blue, etc.) and in grapheme recognition. Without the assistance of the left side the right hemisphere lacks the benefit provided by meaning identification. In our patient the left brain did receive information from the right brain and was able to process it, but was prevented by the paracallosal lesion from transmitting what it knew to the right motor area. No hand effect emerged for objects and geometrical shapes, because their semantic memory is bilaterally represented.
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PMID:Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand knoweth. The case of a patient with an infarct involving the callosal pathways. 971 8

The term "dyspraxia" was coined by Julian de Ajuriaguerra and Mira Stambak in 1964. This clinical term was treated very differently according to which explanatory model was adopted. Nowadays, it is used to refer to developmental coordination disorder in view of its neuro-developmental origin. In any case, the actual clinical situations vary and are often complex. In our opinion, it is first necessary to examine the differential diagnosis: apraxia in children caused by lesions, dysgraphia, simply delayed motor development, non-verbal learning disability syndrome, hemispheric specialisation deficits, pervasive developmental disorders (autisms, Asperger syndrome, atypical autism and other pervasive developmental disorders), mixed specific developmental disorders, multiple developmental disorder, and children with high potential. Next we focus on co-morbidity. Firstly, we look at psychopathological disorders associated with dyspraxia: autism and pervasive developmental disorders, dyscalculia/math disability, dyslexia/reading difficulties, dysphasia accompanied by verbal dyspraxia, intelligence deficiency, anxiety disorders, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Secondly, we examine psychopathological disorders associated with dyspraxia. Children with developmental coordination disorder are less inclined to participate in collective games. As a result, there is a greater risk of them becoming lonely and isolated. They have higher child behaviour checklist (CBCL) scores in the somatic problems scale as well as for anxiety, depression and social withdrawal. They have low self-perception in sports as well as at school, which is related to their physical appearance and their self-esteem, attention deficit and externalized behaviour. These children are often at risk of academic failure and they suffer from oppositional defiant disorder and functional disorders. And finally, we believe that it is important to touch on the impact of these disorders on the family.
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PMID:[Psychopathology in children with dyspraxia]. 2061 74