Weak electromagnetic fields reverse visuospatial hemi-inattention in Parkinson's

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1: Int J Neurosci. 1995 Mar;81(1-2):47-65. Related Articles, Links

Weak electromagnetic fields reverse visuospatial hemi-inattention in

Parkinson's disease.

Sandyk R.

NeuroCommunication Research Laboratories, Danbury, CT 06811, USA.

Drawing tasks, both free and copied, have achieved a central

position in neuropsychological testing of patients with unilateral

cerebral dysfunction by virtue of their sensitivity to different

kinds of organic brain disorders and their ability to provide

information on lateralized brain damage. In the drawings of patients

with right hemispheric damage, visuospatial neglect is revealed by

the omission of details on the side of the drawing contralateral to

the hemispheric lesion. Patients with unilateral cerebral damage,

particularly those with left hemispheric damage, also demonstrate a

tendency to place their drawings on the side of the page ipsilateral

to the cerebral lesion, a phenomenon which has been termed

visuospatial hemi-inattention. It has been reported previously that

brief external application of alternating pulsed electromagnetic

fields (EMFs) in the picotesla (pT) range intensity improved

visuoperceptive and visuospatial functions and reversed neglect in

Parkinsonian patients. The present communication concerns four fully

medicated elderly nondemented Parkinsonian patients (mean age: 74.7

+/- 4.6 yrs; mean duration of illness: 7.7 +/- 5.2 yrs) in whom

application of these EMFs produced reversal of visuospatial hemi-

inattention related to left hemispheric dysfunction. These findings

support prior observations demonstrating that pT EMFs may bring

about reversal of certain cognitive deficits in Parkinsonian

patients.

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PMID: 7775072 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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