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K Sundet

Publications and source records attributed to K Sundet.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

To drive or not to drive: neuropsychological assessment for driver's license among stroke patients.

Seventy-two stroke patients, 43 with right hemisphere (RHD) and 29 with left hemisphere damage (LHD), and 7 coronary infarct controls with no evidence of cerebral damage, were neuropsychologically tested as part of an assessment program for driver's license. Mean age in the group was 53 years. Stroke patients were tested on average 4 months post injury. The groups did not differ on major demographic variables except that RHD patients were more often hemiplegic than LHD patients. The test battery was factor analyzed into 4 valid principal components: (I) visual perception, (II) spatial attention, (III) visuospatial processing, and (IV) language/praxis. The presence of hemianopia (factor I) excludes driving. In addition, measures of neglect and reduced speed of mental processing from factor II, III and IV, were found to be the most discriminating variables when classifying patients for driving. Even though neglect was more frequently observed among RHD than LHD patients, the two hemisphere groups did not differ significantly in number of patients denied driving, 58% RHD compared to 41% LHD patients. The need for comprehensive neuropsychological assessment is underlined.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Assessment of aphasia in relation to communication and cognitive impairments among stroke patients.

Methods for assessing language impairments differ from those needed for communication problems. The article presents results from three previously published studies by the author and co-workers. It is concluded that information about the impairment and training in compensation should be offered the spouse as well as speech therapy to the patient in order to improve reduced communication due to aphasia. Measures of neuropsychological impairments, communication skills and awareness of deficits should be included as well as tests of linguistic competency if a comprehensive aphasia assessment is sought. The methods described are shown to validly differentiate between aphasic subtypes and neuropsychological syndromes.

Aphasia↗
PubMed1988

Neuropsychological predictors in stroke rehabilitation.

A mailed questionnaire, sent routinely to discharged stroke patients, divided left-hemisphere (n = 68) and right-hemisphere (n = 77) patients into three groups of general help dependency in basic activities-of-daily-life skills. A subsample of 29 patients was visited at home and asked to reanswer the questionnaire under guidance of a trained occupational therapist. The reliability of the questionnaire was considered satisfactory. Both neurological deficits and neuropsychological syndromes correlated significantly with the level of help needed for managing alone at home. Multiple regression analysis revealed a major gain in explained variance in help dependency when neuropsychological test results were added to information on degree of hemiplegia and hemianopia. Keeping in mind the subject characteristics of the study sample, apraxia and pathological emotional reactions were the more important variables in the left-hemisphere and right-hemisphere groups respectively. The challenge from rehabilitation psychology is discussed and the need for developing more sophisticated methods for assessing rehabilitation potential is stressed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1986

Sex differences in cognitive impairment following unilateral brain damage.

Studies reporting that cognitive activity in women is more bilaterally organized than in men are reviewed. WAIS data from left- and right-sided male and female brain-injured patients are presented. A significant discrepancy score is found between the VIQ and PIQ in the male subsample, but not in the female subsample. The latter is almost equally impaired on the two scales irrespective of side of damage. The clinical usefulness of the discrepancy score is modest, classifying laterality of lesion correctly in less than 70% of patients of either sex. Linear discriminant analysis of the subtests disregarding the verbal-performance dichotomy yielded considerable increase in hit-rate in prediction of laterality of lesion. It is concluded that men and women use different cognitive strategies in solving intellectual problems and that this may explain the sex differences found on the WAIS.

Adult↗