Arteterapia y el desarrollo conceptual en la memoria semántica con un diseño de investigación caso único en una persona con Síndrome de West

Abstract

Facing the difficulties in expression and communication in adults with West Syndrome, art favours the development of mental representations through the artistic works. But there are few studies on the evolutionary development, elaboration and adquisition of new concepts concerning this aspect. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the conceptual development by means of the Art Therapy in a subject with this Syndrome, employing the single case N=1 methodology with the reversal design ABAB. A hyphotesis whose objective was to mesure the semantic memory, the adquisition of concepts and the categorization of meanings was established. Typified tests were executed as a Pre-post measurement system. The treatment results were analysed in comparison with the base line and the casuality effect. The index of the measurement of the PEM effect was used as a statistics.

Although the statistical data shows moderately effective results in the treatment of two measurement options from the VD and are questionable in the other, the results of the Post test showed an increasing in the scores nonetheless. This encourages replication of this type of studies in the functional aspects of the cognitive processes, as are the semantic relations in individuals suffering from West Syndrome or other development alterations.

CONTENTS

Introduction. The West Syndrome. The semantic memory and the organization of concepts. Method. Results. Discussion. Conclusions. Bibliographic references.