Use of body part as object in brain-damaged subjects

The phenomenon of body parts as object (BPO) involves patients using parts of their body to represent an intended object when required to demonstrate a particular action. The frequency of BPO in left- or right-hemisphere-damaged (LHD, RHD) and control subjects was investigated under three testing conditions: (a) verbal command, (b) imitation, and (c) handling real objects. Mean numbers of BPO responses on command differed between the brain-damaged and control groups but not between the LHD and RHD subjects. BPO responses on command can therefore no longer be considered a feature of specific brain damage. Brain-damaged subjects showed BPO responses on imitation or handling real objects. The presence of apraxia determined the presence of BPO responses during imitation in LHD but not in RHD subjects.