Ricerc@Sapienza

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate topographical working memory in individuals with motor disabilities. Methods: Topographical working memory was investigated using the Walking Corsi Test in 89 participants with motor disability, mean age 11.5 years, of which 40 with cerebral palsy, 31 with spina bifida, and 18 with orthopaedic or peripheral symptoms. The participants were grouped according to everyday mobility, i.e. walking outdoors, walking indoors, and using wheelchair. A control group constituted 120 typically developing participants, mean age 9.9 years.

Recently, several studies have highlighted the importance of topographical working memory in navigation. This was also supported by clinical evidence showing the presence of specific topographical working memory deficits in different types of pathologies that disrupt navigational skills (i.e., individuals affected by developmental topographical disorientation; patients treated surgically for a drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy; stroke patients; patients affected by Alzheimer Dementia).

BACKGROUND: Endogenous ovarian hormones as well as exogenous oestradiol and progesterone play an important role in cognitive processing. Specifically, these hormones play a role in different aspects of memory, both in terms of storage capacity and temporal duration of the mnemonic track. These hormones also have various effects on different types of memory (i.e., verbal, visuo-spatial, prospective).