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Abstract:
Abstract: Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic defect that
causes profound spatial cognitive deficits in the context of
relatively spared capacity for language. This uneven cognitive
profile suggests developmental specialization across cognitive
domains. In order to explore the possibility of selective breakdown
within the spatial domain, we examined the capacity of WS children
to recognize objects under conditions that would appear to require
representation of the objects 3-dimensional spatial structure. Ten
WS children ages 7 to 14 years, 10 normally developing children
matched to the WS children for mental age, and 10 normal adults
were tested on their ability to recognize and name 80 different
common objects presented for 500 msec per picture on a computer
screen. Objects were presented in one of four conditions: (a)
canonical viewpoint/clear image; (b) canonical viewpoint/ blurred
image; (c) non-canonical viewpoint/clear image; (d) non-canonical
viewpoint/ blurred image. All groups of participants showed better
performance under canonical than non-canonical viewpoints, and
under clear than blurred images. Moreover, the decline across
conditions was similar in each group, suggesting that object
recognition in Williams Syndrome may be unimpaired. This finding is
consistent with speculations that the spatial deficit in WS may
reflect damage to the dorsal stream, leaving the ventral stream
intact.
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