Bálint syndrome: causes, symptoms and treatment

This serious medical condition is common in brain injuries affecting both hemispheres.

The visual system is one of the most valuable and developed sensory systems for human beings. Thanks to it we are able to detect the presence of the different elements that are part of our environment as well as to identify their shape, proportions and position in space and in relation to us.

However, sometimes this system can be damaged for some reason, or the brain areas in charge of its management or the interpretation of the data derived from it can be damaged. One of the medical problems or syndromes that can result from brain lesions is Bálint syndrome.

Balint syndrome: what is it?

The so-called Bálint syndrome is a medical condition caused by the presence of brain lesions and characterized by different alterations and characterized by the presence of different alterations linked to the control of the visual system that hinder and even prevent the adaptive use of this system, highlighting the optical ataxia, oculomotor apraxia, perceptual problems and the difficulties derived from them, such as visual agnosia.

This can suppose a serious damage for the daily life of the person, who loses great part of the functionality.

Basic symptoms

Specifically, this syndrome is characterized by sufferers having optic ataxia, i.e. the inability to correctly coordinate visual information and hand movements. The subject is unable to perform tasks that require this coordination, even though his visual perception and hand movement system are not able to coordinate correctly.The subject is unable to perform tasks requiring this coordination, although his visual perception and motor system function correctly separately.

Oculomotor apraxia also appears, which in this case refers to the inability to modify the focus of visual attention due to the absence or decrease of voluntary control of ocular activity. The gaze remains fixed on one point and it is difficult or impossible to change it regardless of the presence of stimulation at another point in the visual field, or erratic movements are present.

Another of the main symptoms of Bálint's syndrome is simultanagnosia, in which the subject is not able to observe more than one object at the same time without the previous ones disappearing from the perceptual field. The subject has serious difficulties in grasping complex visual stimulations, which he/she may not understand. In addition, there is often a high degree of disorientation in space.

Finally, it is also common for disorders such as visual agnosia to appear, in which the person suffering from this syndrome is unable to understand or identify what he/she is seeing and which can lead to phenomena such as prosopagnosia or absence of face recognition.

Causes of this syndrome

Bálint syndrome is mostly caused by the presence of bilateral brain lesions in which both parietal lobes are affected, especially in the areas in contact with the occipital. These areas may include the angular gyrus, which in turn may cause cognitive disturbances, disorientation and language-image association problems.

The causes of these lesions can be multiple, from the presence of cerebrovascular accidents to cranioencephalic trauma. affecting these areas. In addition, there are some cases caused by neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia. It also sometimes appears in complications arising from HIV infection, as well as in prion disease.

Functional alterations in patients

Individuals suffering from Bálint syndrome have serious problems to continue their daily life normally. They have difficulties in coordinating vision and motor skills and may not perceive what is may not perceive their surroundings correctly.. Aspects such as dressing or feeding are greatly complicated in some cases, as well as any activity that requires fine motor skills and vision. Reading and writing becomes difficult or impossible, as well as driving or operating delicate machinery. Occasionally, communication problems may occur in the presence of agnosia or difficulty in associating concepts with their corresponding images.

In addition, since it usually appears abruptly, it is a major disruption that can have serious psychological effects. can generate serious psychological effectsIt is not uncommon to experience anxiety, anguish and even in some cases depression.

Treatment

The Bálint syndrome is the result of a severe brain injury, so the treatment is dedicated to improve and try to the treatment is dedicated to improve and try to recover the lost functions from the through rehabilitation. In most cases, an approach focused on occupational therapy (either by traditional means or through the use of new technologies) is used to reduce the patient's difficulties and enhance their skills, as well as counseling and psychological treatment in the required cases.

Some level of recovery is possible although it will depend on the type of lesion that caused the syndrome, the state of the damaged or isolated neurons and the use of strategies to recover or compensate for the typical functions of the injured areas.