Wayward Minds
When people lose control of their own bodies
This production follows individuals who have suffered accidents or strokes which have caused them to perceive the world very differently than previously. People who find themselves trapped in a self-enclosed world, and who are moreover fully convinced of its reality. In particular after suffering a stroke, many people find themselves in such a situation. A common diagnosis is the pathological failure to recognize one's own hemiplegia, or partial paralysis. One patient simply does not recognize that she unable to lift her left arm. In the face of an unambiguous diagnosis, she is convinced that everything is normal. She does not intend do deceive. She simply perceives no change in her condition. “I would have been able to adjust very quickly to the fact that my wife became paralyzed on one side after her stroke. But the fact that she denies her condition and tries to persuade me that her left arm has simply gone to sleep, or that she simply has no desire to extend her left hand towards me, it drives me crazy.† The classical situation during therapy: a physician asks his patient: “Can you point to my nose with your left hand?† “Of course, I'm doing it right now,† she says emphatically, while her arm hangs downward, immobilized. He persists, asking “can you clearly see where you are pointing?† “Of course,† she replies. But nothing is happening. “Certainly course I can clap my hands,† she responds with a carefree attitude to her doctor’s question. Her right hand moves through the air, as though coming into contact repeatedly with an imaginary left hand. “Are you clapping?† — “Yes I'm clapping.† “At this point,† the doctor explains, “her brain is producing an illusion. Even logically persuasive arguments, for example, the fact that the clapping is inaudible, is met with an equally coherent counterargument, such as: “It's not my fault you're unable to hear sounds!† Another patient also denies his partial paralysis: “When I visited my husband in the hospital,† explains the wife of an afflicted man, “he only shaved his face on one side. I found that odd. When I asked him about it, he seemed to have no idea what I was talking about. I thought to myself, he’s making another one of his foolish jokes!† Since suffering a cerebral haemorrhage, her husband has suffered from so-called “visuospatial neglect,† i.e., he has suppressed all awareness of one half of his body. When asked for the shortest route to his office, he gives directions which do in fact lead to it. But they take the most absurd detours in order to avoid all left turns. Moreover, he leaves the left side of his plate untouched, and perpetually holds his head slightly to one side. “Ever since the operation, I'm somehow lacking in orientation, and somehow, I keep bumping my head, but otherwise I feel perfectly fit,† explains the 58-year-old patient nonchalantly. Having no awareness of his condition, he perceives no need for extensive therapy. This phenomenon, known as “anosognosia†, is frequently found among patients suffering from visuospatial neglect. Fortunately, successful methods of treatment do exist. With the help of simulations involving searching and sorting tasks, the patient is encouraged to return his or her attention toward the affected side of the body.
