Abstract
Purpose: :
Simultanagnosia, pathological variant of simultagnosia, is a disorder characterized by the inability to interpret the totality of a scene despite preservation of the ability to apprehend individual portions of the whole. On this account, awareness of the spatial visual world is deficient, computing neglect of daily basis tasks. It is not uncommon for an ophthalmologist to be consulted by a patient complaining about undetermined visual loss or, even, behavior distraction. The objective of this study is to determine the Brazilian reading pattern, as well as the incidence of quadrantopsy and hemianopsy.
Methods: :
A picture, representing four different situations linked one to another by a vertical and a horizontal logic interpretation was presented to each subject, who was asked to describe it. The answers were written down and tabulated. The situations omitted and the reading patterns were described and statistical studied.
Results: :
372 randomly chosen individuals were tested in the Funadação ABC/ Fundação Santo André campi in October, 2008. The mean general age was 27,06 years of age grouped into 90 different occupations. 61% perceived all the quadrants, whether 39% neglected at least one quadrant from a standard test picture. The right-superior quadrant was the most neglected one, while the botton-horizontal hemianopsy was the most referred. The Brazilian reading pattern varied, the most common one was: right-superior/right-inferior/left-superior/left-inferior quadrant.
Conclusions: :
The reading pattern varies from one person to another and each must learn which one most suits him/her facilitating everyday tasks. The omission of part of a seeing scene is common/individual and depends on natural factors, as awareness; ophthalmologist must be aware of that information in order to examined and orientate his patients. In conclusion, even to healthy individuals to perceive a visual image is more than just seeing.
Keywords: vision and action • visual fields • neuro-ophthalmology: diagnosis