2011 年 2 巻 p. 1-4
Yoneda C, Saitoh E, Suzuki M, Yamada M. Effects of prism directionality and active movement adaptation on the symptoms of unilateral spatial neglect. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2011; 2: 1-4.
Objective: Prism adaptation therapy is one of the treatment methods for unilateral spatial neglect (USN). In this study, we examined the influence of prism deviations toward the right and toward the left. We also studied the additional effects of hand movements as performance adaptation to prisms.
Methods: Patients with left USN caused by stroke were split into 2 groups on the basis of whether or not they performed adaptation movements. In all the patients, prisms deviating the visual field 10° to the right and to the left were used, and the adaptation task consisted of right index finger movements to reach 3 targets on a desk, 50 times each. During the movements, hand trajectories were visible. In the group in which adaptation movements were not performed, the participants wore the prisms for 20 minutes. A line bisection test using a 50-cm tape was used to evaluate the USN before and after treatment.
Results: The use of left-deviating prisms resulted in worsening of the USN in the group in which adaptation movements were performed (p=0.01). In this group, the point of bisection showed a tendency to move toward the left (p=0.29) when right-deviating prisms were used.
Conclusions: The results indicated that adaptation treatment using right-deviating prisms might be effective for USN, even when the trajectory of the movements is visible.