Verbal and figural gestalt completion tests with lateralized occipital area brain damage

Abstract

Verbal and figural forms of the Gestalt Completion Test were administered to 8 subjects with left or near left occipital, 12 with right or near right occipital, 12 with left anterior‐lateral and 9 with right anterior‐lateral lesions. Z score indices of verbal vs. figural scores were constructed. The indices for these groups were compared. Damage to the left occipital area did not impair the figural score more than the verbal, while damage to the right occipital area impaired the figural considerably more than the verbal. The anterior‐lateral groups had no lateralized impairment. This supports the concept that the left occipital area perceptually transforms verbal visual data, while the right occipital area transforms figural visual data.

Gestalt Perception in Children With Visual Impairments: Item-Specific Performance and Looking Behavior

“…The visual closure principle is the ability to visualize a complete whole when presented with incomplete information or a partial picture; thus, elements that form a closed figure tend to be grouped together (Wagemans et al, 2012). It was shown that visual closure is essential in the identification of incomplete drawings (Russell, Hendrickson, & VanEaton, 1988), of global letters (Pflugshaupt et al, 2016) and of hierarchically organized figures (Huberle & Karnath, 2012).…”

“…Presumably, perceptual grouping depends on the integrity of a large brain network and brain damage may result in poorer performance. Indeed, damage in the right occipital lobe (Russell et al, 1988) and the medial parietal lobe, i.e., the precuneus (PC) (Pflugshaupt et al, 2016) resulted in weaker recognition performance. In adults, Gestalt perception, visual illusions or hierarchical letters are used to test aspects of the principle grouping.…”