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MEASURING RIGHT-HEMISPHERE

DYSFUNCTION IN CHILDREN: VALIDITY OF


TWO NEW COMPUTER TESTS
- - .
*’ - -. ~
. ”++.%
“;c.fJ *?
’:.7&+
;?$ *%-‘.. -;.:-;:
If. J. W . A . Sips
C. E. Catsman-Rerrevoers
H . R. vat1 Dongen
P . J . J . van der Werff
L . J. Brooke

Visuospatial, attentional and emotional with acquired left-sided hemiparesis. In


disorders following right-hemisphere in- children with early lesions, however, Boll
juries in adults have been studied in detail and Barth (1981) observed that differences
(Benton 1969; Botez and Olivier 1985; De between WISC Verbal and Performance
Renzi 1985; Heilrnan et al. 1985, 1986), but IQS did not provide valid means of
the neuropsychological consequences of lateralizing brain damage t o either the left
acquired lesions of the right hemisphere in or right hemisphere, but that a deficient
children have received far less attention. Performance IQ was more a characteristic
Denckla (1978) found that children with of diffuse brain damage.
left-sided neurological signs failed to make The Line Orientation Test (LOT) and
normal relationships with their peers. Ferro the Facial Recognition Test (FRT), de-
er’al. (1984) described visuospatial neglect veloped by Benton and co-workers, are c?
\o
in three children with right-hemisphere considered to be valid diagnostic tools for r-
n
lesions. Riva and Cazzaniga (1986) studied measuring right-hemisphere dysfunction
48 children with unilateral lesions acquired in adults (Benton and van Allen 1968;
early in life, and found that the mean Benton el al. 1978, 1983). These authors
WISC-R Performance IQ of the 26 children obtained a predictive value of 85 per cent
with right-hemisphere lesions was for the LOT and 83 per cent for the FRT.
significantly lower than that of the children In children, however, such a direct cor-
with left-sided lesions. relation could not be confirmed (Paquier
Voeller (1986) defined ‘right-hemisphere el al. 1992). That is why it was necessary
2
deficit syndrome’ as left-sided neurological to develop a valid diagnostic tool to assess f
L,
signs, higher Verbal than Performance IQ the visuospatial skills of children with
(WISC-R), and better scores for reading known or suspected disease of the right
and spelling tasks than for one involving hemisphere.
calculation. All 15 of the children she Our aim was to create a test to measure
studied also had an attention deficit dis- right-hemisphere function with the same
order. Seven were unable to interpret validity as the LOT and FRT in adults. We
facial affective cues, while others could wanted the tests to be appealing and easy
not eApress their o w n feelings but to use. For this reason two computer-
appeared to be sensitive to and aware of mediated tests were developed, the Right-
the emotions of others. Njiokiktjien hemisphere Dysfunction Test (RHDT)by
(1987) made similar observations in his l..B. and the Visual PerceptionTest (VPT)
study of 20 four- to 15-year-old children by P.vdW. 57
with a pause between the series. The test
procedure takes approximately 15
minutes. The total number of errors and
the average search time are recorded and
shown by the computer.

Visual Perception Test (VPT)


Howes and Boller (1975) demonstrated
that patients with right-hemisphere
” lesions had increased reaction times of the
5 6 B 9 10 1 1
5
z
7
Age (years)
12 13 14
ipsilateral hand on stimulation of the left
0 0 LOT F i l l VP: (h-91) LOT FRT VPT and HMO :h 4 4 ) hemifield, compared with patients with
3
t. Fig. I. Age distribution of normal comparison
left-hemisphere lesions on stimulation of
:
.-- ch r ldren . the right hemifield. This observation was
V
C
confirmed by Heilman and van den Abell
L
u)
(1979), in a study of normal adults. They
a” showed that reaction times of the right
z Normative data of the LOT and FRT hand were reduced by warning stimuli
r were gathered from children, and the projected to the right hemisphere more
4 RHDT and VPT from children and young than by warning stimuli projected to the
-c:5
- adults. The normative data of the LOT left hemisphere. The VPT was developed
.c and FRT were compared with those with these observations in mind. The child
.-u1
p: published earlier (Benton ef al. 1983, is asked to concentrate on a 5mm wide
Paquier et al. 1992). Sensitivity, specificity, white fixation line in the middle of a dark
predictive value and accuracy of all four computer screen. A small, white, star-
tests were determined in a group of shaped stimulus appears at random at one
children with acquired lesions of the right of the 17 positions on the screen. The
or left cerebral hemisphere. child is asked to get rid of the white star
as quickly as possible by pushing the
Material and method space bar. After a variable interval, the
Right Hemisphere Dysfunction Test stimulus reappears at another position on
(RHDT) the screen. The stimulus reappears 10
This test is a computer-mediated variant times at any of the 17 positions distrib-
of a classic ‘bisect-a-line’ visuospatial uted equally over the screen. The test
test. Patients with a right-hemisphere takes about I5 minutes. The mean
lesion ignore the hemispace contralateral response latency is calculated for each
to that lesion. When they are asked t o position, and the shortest is selected.
bisect a line, they place their division Mean reaction times in the left and right
mark to the right of the midline. In order hemifields are calculated from the most
to create the test, we adapted the visual peripheral positions on the left and right
matching unit of the VISPA (Visuospatial sides.
Cognitive Training System, Dekro Inc.,
Atlanta, GA). In the upper part of the Subjects
blue screen, there is a yellow line bisected NORMAL SUBJECTS
by a yellow demarcation. In the lower Normative data for the LOT, FRT, RHDT
part of the screen, one identical bisected and VPT were drawn from a group of 91
line is shown, together with two almost children (52 boys and 39 girls) admitted t o
identical bisected lines. The identical line the University Hospital Rotterdam for
is positioned randomly in the left, middle minor non-neurosurgical procedures.
or right position in the lower part of the They were assessed on one of the last days
screen, and should be touched with a light of their stay in hospital, or during their
pen (PXL-350 HI-RES light pen, FTG Data first follow-up visit to the outpatient
Systems, Stanton, CA). The length of the clinic. All were aged between five and 14
lines and the position of the demarcations years, were right-handed (as assessed by a
may vary. A total number of 120 trials is standard questionnaire) and were attending
58 presented, divided in two series of 60, a normal elementary school. They had
yr)
TABLE 1 W
,Mean scores on the LOT, FRT,RHDT and VPT c-
v)

VPT-srf'
8% LOT FR T RHDT VPT-L~ VPT-R'

Mean (SO) Mean (SO) Mean (SO) Mean (SO) Mean (SO) Mean (SD)
~

5 14.8 (1.8) 30-5 (4.8) 553.1 (190.9) 847-2 184-4) 725.0 (209.1)
6 19.2 (4.6) 32-3 (2.5) 396.6 (65.3) 494.3 100~0) 558.5 (169.9)
7 19.0 (2.1) 35.9 (3.9) 325.8 (65.4) 405.6 (76.2) 443.1 (132.6)
8 19.4 (5-3) 39-0 (3.3) 303.4 (36.9) 377.5 57-6) 381.8 (43.8)
9 21.3 (5.3) 40.8 (4.3) 285-4 (27.7) 344.6 (34.0) 363.0 (63.4)
10 23.3 (4.9) 42.5 (5.3) 255.2 (37.7) 315.0 (60-9) 318-7 (61.1)
I1 22.s (4.7) 42.0 (2.6) 254.3 (2S.8) 291 - 7 (31 '6) 300.1 (32.4) -20
12 24-4 (4- 1) 4 4 . 5 (2.7) 229.0 (28.3) 284.8 (51.3) 271.9 (37.7)
13 23.6 (2.8) 4 3 - 5 (4.4) 243.2 (29.3) 287.6 (56 9) 301-2 (53.8)
14 21.6 (5.1) 4 1 - 8 (4.3) 238.1 (28.3) 293 * 4 (59.7) 281.6 (42.1)
19.3' - - 230-7 (39.9) 271.2 (50.2) 264.0 (46.5)

'VPT-srt = mean shortest reaction time (ms). 'VPT-L = mean scores for left hemifield (ms). 'VPT-R =mean
scores for right hemifield (ms).
*Young adults: mean age 19.3 (SD 4.3) years.

normal visual acuity, no colour-blindness large arachnoid cyst in the middle cranial
(Ishihara 1981). intact visual fields, fossa with substantial compression of the
normal eye-movements, no recognised temporal lobe. All patients were in a
neurological disorder, and had sustained stable clinical condition. In cases of
no cerebral concussion in the preceding surgery or acute onset of symptoms due to
two years. They were not under sedative haemorrhage or infarction, testing was
medication. Informed consent of parents delayed for at least three months after the
and children was obtained. event. Due t o various technical reasons,
All children completed the LOT, FRT the VPT results of patients RS, R6 and L3
and VPT. 44 of them (22 boys and 22 are not complete.
girls) also completed the RHDT. Their age
distribution is shown in Figure 1. 14 Statistical analysis
normal young adults (eight males and six Following Benton ef al. (1983), a score
females, mean age 19.3 (SD 4.3) years) within the limits of one standard
also completed the RHDT and VPT. deviation was chosen as the normal range
for all tests. The sensitivity of each test
PATlENTS was calculated as the proportion of
We assessed 14 children (eight boys and patients with insufficient test results
six girls) with an acquired right- (nine within the group of patients with lesions
cases) or left-sided (five cases) cerebral of the right hemisphere. Specificity was
hemisphere lesion. In all cases, cr and/or calculated as the proportion of patients
MRI scans confirmed that lesions were with normal test results in the group of
limited to either the left or right hemi- patients with lesions of the left
sphere. An arteriovenous malformation hemisphere. The predictive value of the
was present in six patients (cases ~ 2 ~, 4 , tests was calculated as the proportion of
RS, L I , L2 and L4). Four of these (R2, R4, patients with insufficient test results with
R8 and ~ 4 had ) presented with an acute a right-hemisphere lesion. Accuracy was
haemorrhage. In one patient (R6) the calculated as the number of patients with
lesion was due to occlusion of part of the a right-hemisphere lesion who had an
middle cerebral artery. Six patients abnormal score on this test, plus the
suffered from a cerebral tumour ( R I , ~ 3 , number of patients with a left-hemisphere
RS, R7, ~3 and ~ 5 ) .In patients ~ 3 RS,
, ~ 7 , lesion with a normal score on this test, ..
~3 and LS, the tumour had been resected divided by the total number of patients
by the time of testing. Patient ~9 had a with a right- or a left-hemisphere lesion. 59
TABLE I1
Individual test performances of patients with a lesion of right or left cerebral hemisphere

Patient' Age (yrs} Sex Ae(io1og.v LOT FRT RHDT VPT (ins)'

Srt I. R

RI 7 F Turnour 9' 40 26. 776. 603' 544


R2 9 M Vascular . 19 38 32' 397. 485' 439'
R3 12 F Turnour 20 40' 20' 218 389. 279
R4 13 bl Vascular 18. 37. 21. 314. 407. 357.
RS 8 F Turnour 18 33' 14 306 - ._
R6 II M Vascular 22 39 21. 343. - -
R7 8 kl Turnour 26 40 3 417' 583' 451'
RR 15 F Vascular 20 44 9 282' 313 331'
R9 14 M Arachnoid cysi 26 47 6 500' 627' 651.
LI 10 hl Vascular 17' 32' 3 289 477. 493'
L2 12 M Vascular 14. 49 21. 240 264 265
L3 14 F Turnour 17 32. IS' - - -
1.4 I5 F Vascular 21 46 12 233 255 341.
1.5 6 31 Turnour 8' 34 16 627. 786' 757.

'R = right-hemisphere lesion; 1. -- left-hemisphere lesion. 2See Tablc I for definitions.


'Beyond standard deviation.

TABLE 111
Comparison of all tests

Sensitivity Specijicily Predictive Accuracy


(70) I%) value (To) (%I

LOT 22 40 40 29
I-TR 33 60 60 43
RHDT 56 60 71 57
VPT (shortest reaction time) 78 75 88 77
RHDT and VPT 89 40 72 71

Results On the LOT, two patients with a right-


The test scores for the LOT, FRT, RHDT hemisphere lesion and three patients with
and VPT in normal children are shown in a left-hemisphere lesion scored outside thc
Table 1. For the LOT, the correlations normal range, which for this test is less
with the reference scores of the normal than one standard deviation of the
schoolchildren of Benton el al. (1983) and average score for age. On the FKT, three
Paquier el al. (1992) were 0.73 and 0.81, patients with a right-hemisphere lesion
respectively. For the FRT these corre- and two patients with a left-hemisphere
lations were 0.87 and 0.96, respectively. lesion failed to obtain a normal score,
Thus we conclude that our research popu- which for this test is less than one
lation may be compared with a normal standard deviation of the average score
school population. The data demonstrate for age. On the RHDT, five patients with
that performance improves with age on all a right-hemisphere lesion and two patients
four tests. On the LOT, FRT and RHDT, with a le'ft-hemisphere lesion performed
normal adult scores are reached by the age outside the normal range, which is more
of 10 years. On the VPT, adult scores are than one standard deviation of the
reached by the age of 12 years. average score for age. On the VPT. seven
The individual test performances of the patients with a right-hemisphere lesion
nine children with right-hemisphere and one patient with a left-hemisphere
lesions and the five children with left- lesion performed outside the normal
60 hemisphere lesions are listed in Table 11. range, which is more than one standard
deviation of the average score for age. knowledge that grosopagnosia occurs
Data concerning sensitivity, specificity, almost exclusively as a result of dys-
predictive value and acguracy calculated function of the right hemisphere (Benton
from these results are shown in Table 111. er 01. 1983). To solve these complex tasks,
They demonstrate that the sensitivity, children may draw on other strategies, not
specificity and accuracy of the RHt) and dependent on rhe right hemisphere (De
VPT for detecting right-cerebral dys- Rcnzi ef 01. 1971, Meerwaldt 1982). Both
function in children are superior to the the RHDT and VPT have a more basic
1.OT and FRT, and that their predictive design (i.e. correct estimation of a
value is equal to those of the LOT and FRT division of a line and optic localization of
in adults. The accuracy of predicting right- a stimulus, respectively), which would
hemisphere dysfunction did not improve make them as pure a measure of one
when performances of patients on the RHD aspect of spatial thinking as could be
and VPT were combined (Table 111). conceived. The relatively high accuracy
with which they detected right-hemisphere
Discussion
The role of the right hemisphere in pro-
dysfunction supports this concept.
When studying the reaction times in the
.
2
cessing visuospatial information is firmly .left and right hemifield on the v p r , we
established in adults, and a great variety did not observe the significant differences 9
of tests and procedures have been devised described by Heilman and van den Abell z
to assess different aspects of spatial (1979). This may be caused by the fact 4
'thinking' (Benton 1969; Botez and Olivier that subjects do not fix their eyes con-
1985; Dc Kenzi 1985; Heilman ef al. 1985, sistently on the central bar. The computer
1986). screen is relatively small and due to small
The present results demonstrate that eye-movements may not be observed by
normative data of visuospatial tests the same part of the visual cortex during
derived from adults should not be used the length of the test procedure.
for children. I f the adult standard norms, We conclude that the v P 1 and RHDT
in the LOI and I.RT are used for normal are useful, valid and non-invasive tools to
children below the age of 10 or 11 years, evaluate right-hemisphere function and to
they may incorrectly be considered im- detect acquired visuospatial deficits in
paired. Developmental studies indicate children. The tests are attractive for both
that around the age of 10 or I 1 years, patients and doctors, because the test
performance on visuospatial-oriented programme is pleasant and easy to work
tests equals adult norms (Meerwaldt and with. It can be used as a bedside test or in
Schmitz 1988). Our results suggest a the outpatient department.
similar developmental pattern, which was
Accepted lor pirblicolion 6th April 1993.
more prominent on the RHDT and VPT
than on the LOT and FRT. Ackno wledgemenrs
Paquicr el al. (1992) used the LOT and This study was made possible by the financial
support of the lrene Children's Hospital Foundation.
FRT to study the performances of 18 We are grateful to Dr. M. C. R. Loonen for her
children with left- and 15 children with helpful comments on the manuscript. and P. I . M.
right-hemisphere lesions. They concluded Schmitz for his comments on the statistical methods.
We also thank Marjan van de Berg and Jolandc
that poor performance on the LOT is not Keulemans for their help in gathering the test results.
significantly associated with lesions of the
right hemisphere. There was a moderately A u I h o rs ' A pppoi n t men t s
H. J . W . A. Sips, M.D.;
significant association between lesions of ' C . E. Catsman-Berrevoets, Chiid Neurologist;
the right hemisphere and performance on H. R. van Dongen, Neuropsychologist;
the FRT. Our results with the LOT and FRT Department of Neurology, University Hospital
Rotterdam-Dijkzigt.
support their findings. P. J . J . van der Werff. Neuropsychologist,
The LOT and FRT measure spatial ' Department of Clinical Psychology. Reinier de
Graaf Gasthuis, Delft.
perception at a fairly complex level. The 1.. J . Brooke. Dekro Inc.. Allanla, GA 30327.
LOT is based on the concept that the right
hemisphere plays an important role in *Correspondence fo second author at Department of
IVeurology. University Hospital Rotterdam-
distinguishing line direction (Benton et al. Dijkrigt. Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015 G D
1983). The FRT was developed with the Rotterdam. The Netherlands. 61
SUMMARY
The validity of two new computer-mediated tests for the detection of right-cerebral hemisphere
u)
lesions in children-the Right-hemisphere Dysfunction Test and the Visual Perception Test-was
9
v) evaluated. Normative data were drawn from a group of 91 children (aged five to 14 years) and 14
young adults. The tests were also administered to 14 children with acquired lesions of either right- or
left-cerebral hemisphere. The results demonstrate that the Right-hemisphere Dysfunction Test and
the Visual Perception Test, with predictive values of 71 per cent and 88 per cent. respectively, are
useful in clinical practice for detection of right-hemisphere dysfunction in children.
VI
L
RESUME
+c Evaluation d’une dysfonction de I’hemisphere droil chez I’enfant: validire de deux nouveaux tests
presentes par ordinoteur
La validite de deux nouveaux tests presentes par ordinateur. pour la detection de lesions de
I’hemisphere droit chez I’enfant. le test de dysfonction de I’hemisphere droit et le test de perception
+P visuelle, a ete evaluee. Les donnees de reference ont ete obtenues sur un groupe de 91 enfants (iges
de cinz a 14 ans) et 14 jeunes adultes. Les tests furent egalernent presentes a 14 enfants porteurs de
lesions acquises de I’hemisphere droit ou gauche. Les resultats ont montre que le test de dysfonction
de I’hemisphere droit et le test de perception visuelle, avec une valeur predictive respective de 71
pour cent et de 88 pour cent. sont utiles en pratique clinique pour detecter une dysfonction de
I’hemisphere droit chez I’enfant.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG
Beurteilung einer Dysfunktion der rechten Hemisphare bei Kindern: Validirat von 2 wei Computertests
Es wurde die Validitat von zwei neuen Computertests zur Erkennung von Lasionen der rechten
Hirnhemisphare bei Kindern untersucht-Dysfunktionstest der rechten Hirnhemisphare und visuellcr
Perzeptionstest. Normale Daten wurden von einer Gruppe von 91 Kindern (funf bis 14 Jahre alt)
und 14 jungen Erwachsenen erhoben. Aunerdem wurden 14 Kinder mit erworbenen Lasionen dcr
rechten oder linken Hirnhernisphare mit diesen Tests untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen. daB der
Dysfunktionstest der rechten Hemisphare und der visuelle Perzeptionstest mit prognostischen
Ausagewerten von 71 bzw. 88 Prozent f u r die klinische Anwendung zur Diagnostik einer
Dysfunktion der rechten Hemisphare bei Kindern geeignet sind.

RESUMEN
Medicion de la disfuncion del hemisferio derecho en niitos. Validez de un nuevo tests t*ot?1putariiado
Se evaluo la validez de dos nuevos tests computarizados para la deteccion de lesiones del hemisferio
cerebral derecho en ninos (test de disfuncion del hemisferio derecho y test de percepcion visual). Los
datos normativos se extrajeron de un grupo de 91 ninos (de cinco a 14 anos) y 14 adultos jovenes.
Los tests se pasaron tambien a 14 ninos coy lesiones adquiridas de hemisferio derecho o izquierdo.
Los resultados demostraron que el test disfupcion del hemisferio derecho y el de percepcion visual,
con valores predictivos del 71 y el 88 por ciento repectivamente, son utiles en la practica privada
para la deteccion de la disfuncion del hemisferio derecho en nines.

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