Melikov, R.T.

Background. There is a lack of research in the scientific literature regarding the functional reorganisation of spatial perception in individuals with lower limb amputations, while most attention has been focused on upper limb amputees. However, the characteristics of spatial perception restructuring differ between upper and lower limb amputations, which highlights the need for further research to better understand the changes taking place and develop methods to compensate for them.

Objective. The aim of this study is to identify the features of spatial perception in patients with lower limb amputations as compared to subjects with severe injuries but without complete amputation, as well as to healthy volunteers.

Study Participants. A total of 90 participants were divided into four groups: right (20 individuals) and left (12 individuals) lower limb amputees, patients with combat wounds, but without amputations (22 individuals), and a control group of healthy participants (36 individuals).

Methods. Spatial perception was modeled in virtual reality (VR) conditions, including 3 test series with measuring reaction times to the appearance of a stimulus (1 session), to the beginning of the stimulus movement (2 session), to determining the direction of the stimulus movement to the left or right (3 session). The subject completed each series in turn using a special keyboard. Stimuli appeared in each series in random order at a distance of either 9 or 18 meters with equal probability.

Results. The showed that the reaction time did not significantly differ between the groups of patients with amputation of the left and right lower limbs. The group with amputation of the left lower limb, in comparison with the control group, showed a slower reaction time, which was maximally expressed in the task of determining the direction of stimulus movement, especially to the left.

Conclusions. The study highlights the importance of considering the type of amputation when analysing visual and spatial perception in patients. Despite the absence of significant differences between the groups with amputations of the left and right lower limbs, the results indicate that amputation of the left limb has a more significant effect on reaction time and perception of space than amputation of the right one.