Cognitive disorder

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A perception disorder is a disorder in the processing of sensory impressions in the central nervous system . Disturbances in perception in the narrower sense exist when the detection of sensory stimuli (e.g. feeling ), the connection between the sensory systems or the orderly sequence in the processing of sensory stimuli are affected.

According to Félicie Affolter, a distinction is made between modality-specific , intermodal or serial perception disorders. These types of perceptual disorders are based on their model of perceptual development .

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Perception problems in general

If one is deaf or blind , seeing or hearing poorly, this is usually due to damage to the sense organ ; the absorption of stimuli from the environment by the sense organs is not possible or is disturbed. These disorders of the sensory organs can be partially compensated by aids such as glasses or hearing aids . A complete restriction of the sense organ is expressed in the fact that it cannot be compensated for by such aids.

But there are also cases in which the sense organs seem to be functioning; different stimuli are received: the ear hears, the nose smells and the eyes see. Nevertheless, the processing of the sensory impressions seems to be disturbed - the perception of what has been seen or heard does not succeed as desired. Aids such as glasses or hearing aids are of no use here for other reasons. If there is nothing organically that points to a cause (e.g. a detachment of the retina in the eye), the mental processing of the stimuli in the brain may be disturbed, the organization and interpretation of the electrical impulses does not succeed or is only inadequate, which means that the sensory stimulus does not enter Consciousness can penetrate and thus remains irrelevant for the person. In this case, the inadequate processing of the sensory stimuli is the reason for the disturbance, there is a disturbance in the perception process .

Different causes

The cause of disturbances in perception can be of organic origin. An example of an organic cause is a disorder of the brain function, which in turn can have prenatal , perinatal or postnatal reasons; in other words, acquired in the womb, at birth or only after the birth of the person affected by perceptual disorders.

Due to the toxic effects of ethanol on the central nervous system , alcoholic beverages as well as psychoactive drugs and hallucinogens can lead to cognitive disorders. For example, experiments with LSD are known . A mental illness can also lead to cognitive disorders.

Types of cognitive disorders

Modality-specific

Disturbances can occur at various points within the perception process. In the area of ​​modality-specific perception disorders, only the processing of one type of sensory stimulus is disturbed, e.g. B. auditory , visual , tactile , kinesthetic or olfactory . One possibility here is the missing assignment of meaning to a sensory stimulus; the integration of stimuli with existing knowledge or experience does not succeed. An example of a visual impairment would be: the visual stimulus of a rose is not identified as a "rose". Further possibilities of a modality-specific perception disorder are, for example, the inability to differentiate between similar stimuli: similar looking letters or similar sounding sounds cannot be differentiated or only with difficulty. Also the inability to filter out a single one from a multitude of sounds, i.e. to perceive a certain stimulus among other stimuli. Another example of a modality-specific perception disorder is prosopagnosia , also known as facial blindness. Those affected can see, but cannot process faces. The disturbance is limited to the processing of faces, everything else that is visually recorded can also be processed and classified. In the case of a visual perception disorder such as prosopagnosia, it can help the person affected not to distinguish people by their face as far as possible, but for example by their voice, clothing, hairstyle or other special features. Also Auditory processing disorders , are an example of modality-perception disorders. With these disturbances, the processing of sound waves does not run smoothly despite intact hearing and is expressed in different ways.

Intermodal

An intermodal perception weakness exists when stimuli from different sensory organs cannot be brought into connection with one another. For example, if you watch TV, several sensory organs are involved in the activity of “ watching TV ”: the ear hears and the eye sees. The viewer integrates the sounds of the film with the viewed image. The same interplay of several stimuli can also be observed when one reaches for an object: an object is perceived visually and one reaches out to grab it. In the case of an intermodal perception disorder, this interplay of several stimuli does not succeed. For example, an intermodal perception disorder can manifest itself when a person cannot hear a melody at the same time and can clap rhythmically to it, or when a person cannot follow a dictation . Here the auditory and tactile-kinaesthetic stimuli cannot be brought into connection with one another; there are “dropouts” such as many spelling errors or the omission of words.

Serial

In the case of serial perception disorders, sensory stimuli cannot be brought into any (meaningful) order. For example, people with perception disorders forget steps in the sequence of an activity or reverse the order of the steps, so that the achievement of the activity goal is prevented. This could be a cooking step or an incorrect dressing sequence. If, for example, the shoes are put on before the socks, the sequence of putting on is disrupted - the socks can no longer be put on. If you forget to turn on the stove while cooking, you will not be able to cook the pasta. People with perceptual disorders often only see the “present” step, but are not able to plan the next steps of the activity into their actions. Often it is not possible to "start again" at the point at which the error occurred and the person affected by perceptual disorders starts the entire activity from the beginning, as it is not possible for them to return to the middle of the activity and to correct the error. Here, however, the cause can also lie in another area, namely in the memory and corresponding brain functions that are disturbed by diseases such as dementia or Alzheimer's .

Consequences of perceptual disorders

Perceptual disorders affect the lives of those affected - not only because of the disorder itself, but also because of the resulting sequelae, such as problems with learning to read, write and arithmetic. Perceptual disturbances also have consequences for life in society: Disturbances in perception are often invisible to other people at first glance; the affected people initially appear healthy and nothing abnormal can be seen in their behavior. On closer inspection, however, outsiders perceive your behavior, which is influenced by the perceptual disorder, to be aggressive, inappropriate, clumsy, passive or over-the-top.

Treatment methods

A diagnosis is a prerequisite for the selection of an appropriate treatment method .

By dealing with the environment in the context of problem-solving everyday events, a person comes to know what the relationship between body and environment is like; he receives sensed perception information. If the tactile-kinesthetic perception is disturbed, the Affolter method can contribute to improving the perceived search for information through targeted “guidance” of the hands and body.

The aim of psychotherapy is to expand the sensed experience and improve the organization of perception. As a result, the affected people can achieve greater understanding, more flexibility, independence and improved linguistic performance over time.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ F. Affolter: Perceptual processes, their disruption and impact on school performance, especially writing and reading. In: Journal for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 3, 1975, pp. 223-234. Quoted from: Renate Zimmer: Handbook of Sensory Perception. Basics of a holistic education and upbringing. 2012, p. 159.
  2. ↑ a b David G. Myers: Psychology. 3. Edition. Springer publishing house. Berlin / Heidelberg 2014, pp. 234–235.
  3. ↑ Renate Zimmer: Handbook sensory perception. Basics of a holistic education and upbringing. 2nd edition of the revised new edition. Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2012, p. 158.
  4. ↑ a b C. Leyendecker: Disturbances of perception. (= Disabilities and school. Part 3). Tuebingen 1988, DNB 890570957 , pp. 55-57.
  5. ↑ Renate Zimmer: Handbook sensory perception. Basics of a holistic education and upbringing. 2nd edition of the revised new edition. Herder Verlag Freiburg im Breisgau 2012, p. 157.
  6. ↑ Félicie Affolter: Perception Reality and Language. Neckar-Verlag, Villingen-Schwenningen 1990, p. 30.
  7. ↑ Félicie Affolter: Perception Reality and Language. Neckar-Verlag, Villingen-Schwenningen 1990, p. 149.
  8. ↑ Félicie Affolter: Perception Reality and Language. Neckar-Verlag, Villingen-Schwenningen 1990, pp. 102-111.
  9. ↑ Renate Zimmer: Handbook sensory perception. Basics of a holistic education and upbringing. 2nd edition of the revised new edition. Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2012, p. 163.

literature

  • Felicie Affolter: Perception, Reality and Language . Neckar, Villingen 1987. (10th edition. 2007, ISBN 978-3-7883-0255-9 )
  • Renate Zimmer: Handbook sensory perception. Basics of a holistic education and upbringing. 2nd edition of the revised new edition. Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2012, ISBN 978-3-451-32560-1 .
  • David G. Myers: Psychology. 3. Edition. Springer publishing house. Berlin / Heidelberg 2014, ISBN 978-3-642-40781-9 .
  • C. Leyendecker: Disorders of perception. (= Disabilities and school. Part 3). Tübingen 1988, DNB 890570957 .
  • Walter F. Haupt, Kurt-Alphons Jochheim, Helmut Remschmidt: Neurology and psychiatry for nursing professions. 15 tables. 7., revised. Edition. Thieme, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-13-453607-2 .

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