Article

A variety of rehabilitation strategies have been tried in patients
with chronic hemianopia and quadrantanopia. The authors compared 2 approaches of
blind field exploration in those with recent onset of disease. METHODS: A total
of 20 patients with visual field defects were studied between 3 and 24 weeks
primarily after stroke. Patients were randomly assigned to separate groups
performing either audiovisual stimulation training or a visual stimulation
training (20 sessions, each lasting 30 minutes). Patients were evaluated before
and after the training with visual exploration tests for reading and object
search; eye movements were analyzed with electro-oculography, and a questionnaire
was completed by an occupational therapist about impairment in daily life
activities. RESULTS: Both groups improved their performance after compensatory
eye movement training. Comparisons between the 2 forms of training revealed a
significantly greater improvement for all outcome variables for the audiovisual
group. In particular audiovisual stimulation significantly increased the number
and amplitude of saccades. CONCLUSIONS: Multimodal audiovisual exploration
training appears to be more effective than exploration training alone and may
improve function beyond spontaneous recovery soon after ischemia of the occipital
lobe.

Langue : ANGLAIS