Visuospatial deficits and operation of electronic devices

Abstract

  Individuals with cognitive impairment have difficulties operating electronic devices due to a wide variety of functions in those devices. The operation of electronic devices requires interaction among several cogni tive domains, that is, linguistic, praxis, memory, visual/visuospatial, and executive functions. In this article, we focus on visuospatial function and studied on ability to operate electronic devices among persons with Bálint syndrome. Our study found that those with Bálint syndrome had difficulties in inputting a digit se quence on electronic devices. In particular, those with mild Bálint syndrome have poor performance as the number of digit sequence increased, i.e., more than five digits. Persons with mild Bálint syndrome also re vealed difficulties using automated teller machines in a bank, which also required input of digit sequences. These findings indicate that visuospatial function might play a crucial role in operating electronic devices. We also discuss specific methods to operate electronic devices for those with visuospatial deficits.