ABSTRACT
Introduction：The relationship between the results of a driving simulator test and a paper-based evaluation of higher brain function were examined.Subjects：The subjects of this study were 203 patients with brain injury who received support to resume driving during hospitalization or outpatient treatment at our hospital between April 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018.Methods：The sex, age, and results of various higher brain function tests of the patients were investigated using medical records and the outcomes of the driving resumption support. The performance on a driving simulator test was compared between patients judged able to and those judged unable to resume driving.Results：In the group of 165 patients who passed the paper-based evaluation of higher brain function, 34 were judged unable to resume driving based on a driving simulator test. In the group that did not pass the paper-based evaluation of higher brain function, 4 patients were also judged unable to resume driving based on a driving simulator test. The results of the higher brain function evaluation were significantly better in the group permitted to resume driving compared with the group not permitted to resume driving in all items except for the Visual Reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised.Conclusions：Evaluations of actual automobile driving using driving simulators or other means are important in assessing driving resumption. Driving requires the use of various higher brain functions and the results of this study suggest that a higher level of ability is required for safe driving.
ABSTRACT
Since foreign patients may have inadequate Japanese language proficiency, rehabilitation techniques and evaluations of the higher brain and language function are often challenging. Here, we report a Hongkongese patient who suffered from higher brain dysfunction and dysgraphia after brain surgery. The patient was a 29-year-old left-handed man admitted to the Osaka International Cancer Institute for surgical resection of a choroid plexus tumor located on the trigone in the right lateral ventricle. Since the patient's mastery of the Japanese language was poor on preoperative evaluation, we partially evaluated his higher brain functions in Cantonese and English. However, he experienced left hemispatial neglect and spatial dysgraphia on postoperative day (POD) 2. On POD 48, his spatial dysgraphia (mainly in Cantonese) and higher brain functions improved with rehabilitation treatment, which involved verbal and non-verbal techniques such as task presentation and pointing. Although rehabilitation tasks and techniques are difficult due to language barriers, non-verbal techniques can be effective in providing treatment. Furthermore, it is important to evaluate the patient's language proficiency on preoperative assessment, especially in non-native Japanese speakers.
ABSTRACT
Objective：An actual-condition survey was conducted to verify the validity of reference values of higher brain function necessary for patients with brain injury to resume automobile driving. Subjects：Of the 74 patients admitted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Rehabilitation Hospital between November 1, 2008 and November 30, 2012, who underwent evaluation using the hospital's automobile driving resumption system at the time of discharge, 71 patients with brain injury who were judged capable of resuming driving were included in this study. Methods：Questionnaires were sent at least 1 year after discharge, to determine whether the subjects had actually resumed automobile driving. Subjects were classified by admission date into two groups：1）A provisional reference group that included patients admitted between November 2008 and November 2011 who had resumed driving；and 2) verification group that included patients who had been admitted between December 2011 and November 2012 and had resumed driving. The relationship between results on the higher brain function test for the verification group and provisional reference values was investigated. Results：The provisional reference value group included 29 patients, and the verification group included 13 patients. In the verification group, the results of 9 patients with brain injury on the higher brain function test were within provisional reference values. Conclusion：The results of the paper-based test are a reliable predictor of whether a patient is capable of resuming driving, but do not represent an absolute standard. Therefore, the safety of resuming driving should be investigated on a case-by-case basis.
ABSTRACT
Objective : We conducted a fact-finding survey for the consecutive past 3 years to establish whether inpatients with brain injury who had wished to resume driving after discharge from our hospital had in fact resumed driving after discharge. The survey included both driving status and information about collisions. Methods : Patients who had been evaluated for resumption of driving and were discharged more than 1 year ago were sent a fact-finding survey questionnaire aimed at establishing whether they were currently driving. The patients who had resumed driving (resumers) were compared with those who had not resumed driving (non-resumers). From the questionnaire results we investigated driving status and whether collisions had occurred. Results : We obtained effective responses from 40 of the 54 people (48 males, 6 females) who were sent the questionnaire ; the collection rate was 74.1%. Of these, twenty-nine people had resumed driving, all were male. There were no significant differences between the resumers and non-resumers in higher brain function tests. In regard to driving ability, hemiparesis impairments were significantly milder in the resumers than in the non-resumers. Two respondents had hit posts or walls within the year. All these collisions occurred when parking. One respondent had a collision while driving along a road. Conclusion : We hope to provide patients with useful and appropriate information on resuming driving so that we can support them in a safe return to the driving environment.
ABSTRACT
An epileptic seizure can be induced by higher brain function or mental processes associated with emotion. The precipitation involves verbal, non-verbal and specific thinking with emotion. Some of these patients have symptomatic and focal epilepsies. Others were idiopathic epilepsies, where the hyperexcitable regions and systems provoked by some specific stimuli may produce epileptic seizures that results in symmetrical, asymmetrical, or even localized clinical manifestations. The understanding of precipitation of seizures by higher brain function may contribute to understanding of epileptogenesis and nosology of epilepsies.