Case Report of a Patient with Disorders in Mental Rotation and Spatial Orientation without Heading Disorientation

Abstract

  Recollection of routes requires mental rotation ability to construct spatial information associated with a townscape, and spatial orientation ability to represent the direction and distance of the target destination on a map. We experienced a patient who did not present heading disorientation despite suffering brain damage that impaired her mental rotation and spatial orientation abilities. The 48-year-old, right-handed female patient exhibited subcortical hemorrhage of the right parietal cortex; however, damage did not extend to the retrosplenial region. Although the patient had difficulties with mental rotation and spatial orientation tasks, she did not show heading disorientation. This case indicates that impairment of mental rotation and spatial orientation abilities is not a necessary precursor for heading disorientation.