Neuropsychologic findings in Friedreich's ataxia
R. A. Fehrenbach, C. W. Wallesch and D. Claus
Fifteen patients with Friedreich's ataxia underwent a battery of
neuropsychologic tests. All subjects had normal visual acuity. There was no
indication that Friedreich's ataxia is a dementing disease. The patients
showed an impairment in tests of spatial construction and in one test of
conceptual perception. Cerebellar structures may be involved in certain
spatial tasks, and a lack of training of action in space, as a result of
the disease, may also account for the deficits. The motor and somatosensory
impairment could be ruled out as a major cause.
