HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Correspondence: Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Correspondence are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by LEVINE, D. N. Articles by MOHR, J. P. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by LEVINE, D. N. Articles by MOHR, J. P.

Inaccurate reaching associated with a superior parietal lobe tumor

Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. Massachusetts.

A man with a tumor in the right superior parietal lobule had difficulty reaching for visualized objects. There were no significant deficits in visual sensation, visual attention, somatosensory function, elementary motility, praxis, or visuospatial performance. If allowed to visually fixate the target before reaching, he misreached only with his left arm and only when he was not allowed to observe the reaching limb. If he was required to maintain central visual fixation while reaching into his peripheral visual fields, his left arm misreached into both visual hemifields but his right arm misreached only into the left visual hemifield. These results demonstrate abnormalities, referable to both the contralateral arm and the contralateral visual field, that can neither be reduced to elementary disturbances of visual or somatosensory function nor to an elementary disturbance of motility. This pattern of misreaching has not been previously reported in human subjects or in experimental animals, but this may be attributable to differences of methodology. The misreaching observed in this patient may correspond to loss of posterior parietal neurons serving a supramodal integrative function.

Dr. Levine's address is Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114.

This research was supported by grants NS-13102 and NS-12808 of the National Institutes of Health, and funds from the Rowland Foundation.

Accepted for publication October 13, 1977.