O impacto da síndrome vestibular periférica no funcionamento cognitivo

Abstract

In recent decades, more comprehensive research into the relationship between the vestibular system and cognitive functioning has emerged. However, most studies focus on visuospatial and attentional abilities, marginalizing other dimensions of human cognition. Given the existence of gaps and the scarcity of Portuguese neuropsychological studies on the subject, I propose to focus this project on the impact of peripheral vestibular syndrome (PVS) on cognitive functioning in a sample of the portuguese population. This study has an objective sample comprising 32 participants aged between 21 and 60, divided into two groups (clinical and control). A neuropsychological protocol was applied consisting of a sociodemographic clinical questionnaire and six cognitive tests, namely the D2 test for assessing attention, the TMT for executive functioning and the Cube, Digit Memory, Code and Symbol Search subtests of the WAIS-III, for twodimensional constructive praxis, working memory and processing speed, respectively. All the data was entered into SPSS software for analysis, and a t-Student's test was applied for independent samples. Statistically significant differences were found between the clinical group and the control group in the D2 (t(30)=-1.719; p=0.048), Block design (t(30)=-1.863; p=0.036) and Digit symbol coding (t(30)=-2.316; p=0.014) tests. However, there were no significant differences between the groups in the results of the TMT (t(30)=-0.677; p=0.252), Digit span (t(30)=-0.364; p=0.359) and Symbol Search (t(30)=-0.796; p=0.216) tests. Thus, significant alterations were documented in attention, two-dimensional constructive praxis and processing speed when more dependent on psychomotor, praxical and working memory skills in subjects with PVS. Despite the limitations found, this study contributes to the understanding of vestibular disorders and cognition and highlights the need for future research to study these interactions in greater depth.

Date of Award	18 Jun 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Alexandre Castro Caldas (Supervisor)