Perceptual and Motor Impairment within 2 Weeks after a Stroke: A Multifactorial Statistical Approach

Abstract

Visual perceptual performance (12 items) and motor behavior were assessed in 109 patients within 2 weeks poststroke and were related to self-care activities of daily living (ADL) proficiency. A cluster analysis revealed that scores for motor behavior and self-care ADL were closely associated whereas visual-perception items could be separated into two groups One of these incorporated relatively meaningless (Low-Order Perception [L-OP]) and the other relatively meaningful (High-Order Perception [H-OP]) stimuli. When the disability parameter, ADL, was excluded factor analyses identified three orthogonal factors—motor behavior, H-OP, and L-OP—which were similar to those of the cluster analysis and explained about 75% of the variance. Standardized factor scores were sizable predictors for self-care ADL-score for motor behavior and H-OP, but not for L-OP. The present findings of grouping of visual perception into two factors are contradictory to espoused categorizations and may shed new light on occupational therapy research, functional diagnosis, and the treatment of stroke patients.