Dissociation between preserved body structural description and impaired body image following a pediatric spinal trauma

Neurocase. 2017 Apr;23(2):149-153. doi: 10.1080/13554794.2017.1332227. Epub 2017 May 26.

Abstract

In adult patients, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) may influence the mental Body Representation (BR). Currently, there is no evidence on the modulation of SCI on BR during early stages of cognitive development. Here, we investigated BR in a 3-year-old child with complete SCI. The patient was administered with a specific battery assessing different BR components. We found evidence for putative classical neuropsychological dissociation between a preserved topological map with impaired semantic knowledge of the body. This finding sheds new light on the impact of SCI on BR in childhood, as well as on the level of interdependence between BR's components..

Keywords: Body representation; children; spinal cord injury.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Body Image*
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child, Preschool
  • Humans
  • Intelligence / physiology
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Spinal Cord / diagnostic imaging
  • Spinal Cord Injuries / diagnostic imaging
  • Spinal Cord Injuries / physiopathology*
  • Spinal Cord Injuries / psychology*