Description: Combined Space and Alertness Related Therapy of Visual Hemineglect: Effect of Therapy Frequency

This title appears in the Scientific Report : 2013

Combined Space and Alertness Related Therapy of Visual Hemineglect: Effect of Therapy Frequency

The combined efficacy of space- and alertness related training in chronic hemineglect was tested behaviorally and in a longitudinal fMRI study. Earlier results had shown that both space as well as alertness related training as single intervention methods lead to short term improvement which, however...

Personal Name(s):	Sturm, Walter (Corresponding author)
	Thimm, M. / Binkofski, F. / Horoufchin, H. / Fink, G. R. / Küst, J. / Karbe, H. / Willmes, K.
Contributing Institute:	Physik der Medizinischen Bildgebung; INM-4 Kognitive Neurowissenschaften; INM-3
Published in:	Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7 373, S. 1-12
Imprint:	Lausanne Frontiers Research Foundation 2013
DOI:	10.3389/fnhum.2013.00373
PubMed ID:	23908613
Document Type:	Journal Article
Research Program:	(Dys-)function and Plasticity Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
Link:	OpenAccess
	Publikationsportal JuSER

Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00373 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/7830 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/5371 in citations.

The combined efficacy of space- and alertness related training in chronic hemineglect was tested behaviorally and in a longitudinal fMRI study. Earlier results had shown that both space as well as alertness related training as single intervention methods lead to short term improvement which, however, is not stable for longer time periods. The neurobiological data obtained in these studies revealed differential cortical reorganization patterns for the two training approaches thereby leading to the hypothesis that a combination of both trainings might result in stronger and longer lasting effects. The results of our current study, however, – at least at first glance – do not clearly corroborate this hypothesis, because neither alertness training alone nor the combination with OKS on the group level led to significant behavioral improvement, although four of the six patients after alertness and even more after combined training showed a higher percentage of behavioral improvement than during baseline. Despite the lack of clearcut behavioral training induced improvement we found right parietal or fronto-parietal increase of activation in the imaging data immediately after combined training and at follow-up 3 weeks later. The study design had called for splitting up training time between the two training approaches in order to match total training time with our earlier single training studies. The results of our current study are discussed as a possible consequence of reduced training time and intensity of both training measures under the combined training situation.