Reactivity to Visual Signals and the Cerebellar Vermis: Evidence From a Rare Case With Rhombencephalosynapsis.

The modulatory role of the cerebellum was investigated in a case with rhombencephalosynapsis (RS), a rare dysplasia characterized by the absence of the cerebellar vermis. The visual psychophysical task involved localizing a target and ignoring a distractor appearing either before, at the same time a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Behavioral Neuroscience Vol. 123; no. 1; pp. 86 - 97
Autores principales: Michael, George A., Garcia, Sophie, Bussy, Gérald
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: American Psychological Association February 2009
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The modulatory role of the cerebellum was investigated in a case with rhombencephalosynapsis (RS), a rare dysplasia characterized by the absence of the cerebellar vermis. The visual psychophysical task involved localizing a target and ignoring a distractor appearing either before, at the same time as, or after the target. It allowed us to assess reactivity to warning signals, distraction, and reactivity to signals appearing during attentive processing. Compared with a control sample, the patient exhibited greater reactivity to warning signals and difficulties interrupting attentive processing, whereas distraction was not increased. Complementary analyses showed that these deficits did not reflect just delayed development of attentional processes. These results suggest that the cerebellum modulates responsiveness and commands attentional/exploratory flexibility in response to sensory signals. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.