Constructional apraxia of drawing in patients with vascular or tumoral injury of the right hemisphere
Gheorghiţă, N.
Neurologie et Psychiatrie 18(2): 127-143
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0259-6326 PMID: 6997977 Document Number: 164927
Constructional apraxia of dictated and copied drawing was studied in 55 patients with right hemispheric lesions of tumoral etiology in 15 cases and of vascular etiology in 40 cases. The errors found were of 17 types grouped in 5 categories: errors in line making; errors in design structures; unilateral neglect of space; closing-in effect; and lack of perspective. The error frequency was significantly higher in tumoral than in vascular patients. There was no statistical correlation between age and error frequency. The patients with university education had a significantly higher error frequency than those with a lower education. It is important to consider the qualitative aspect of the drawing disturbance for a proper estimate of the severity of apraxia. Copied drawing can indicate better than dictated drawing the degree of apracic disturbance.