Dyschiria

Dyschiria, also known as dyschiric syndrome, is a neurological disorder where one-half of an individual's body or space cannot be recognized or respond to sensations.[1] The term dyschiria is rarely used in modern scientific research and literature. Dyschiria has been often referred to as unilateral neglect, visuo-spatial neglect, or hemispatial neglect from the 20th century onwards. Psychologists formerly characterized dyschiric patients to be unable to discriminate or report external stimuli. This left the patients incapable of orienting sensory responses in their extrapersonal and personal space. Patients with dyschiria are unable to distinguish one side of their body in general, or specific segments of the body. There are three stages to dyschiria: achiria, allochiria, and synchiria, in which manifestations of dyschiria evolve in varying degrees.[1]

The dyschiric syndrome was defined in the early 19th century by Ernest Jones, a Welsh psychiatrist, and has encapsulated several explanations of theoretical mechanisms for each stage.[1] Over the course of time, the decreased significance of dyschiria's biopsychological influence led to its replacement by 'neglect' under neurological disorders in neuropsychology.[2]

Dyschiric patients have deficiencies in motor, sensory, visual, and introspective zones of consciousness. These symptoms are associated with brain lesions, hysteria, and somatoparaphrenia which all affect cognition.[3][4] In clinical studies, dyschiria is also referred to as the mislocalization of sensations (visual, auditory, and tactile) to the opposite half of the body which can be both unilateral and bilateral.[5]

Treatment is limited and unestablished clinically to be proven effective for dyschiric patients, while rehabilitation methods cannot sustain stable effects. Therapeutic options majorly consist of virtual reality (VR), neglected field eye patching, and prismatic adaptation (PA) alongside other rehabilitation therapies.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Jones, Ernest (1909). "The Dyschiric syndrome". The Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 4 (5): 311–327. doi:10.1037/h0075421. ISSN 0145-2339.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Rizzolatti, G., Berti, A., & Gallese, V. (2000). Spatial neglect: neurophysiological bases, cortical circuits and theories. In F. Boller, J. Grafman, & G. Rizzolatti (Eds.), Handbook of neuropsychology: Sect 1: Introduction, Sect 2: Attention (pp. 503–537). Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
  4. ^ Bisiach, Edoardo (1994-06-01). "Dyschiria: Its present state and foreseeable developments". Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. 4 (2): 115–117. doi:10.1080/09602019408402266. ISSN 0960-2011.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).