PHENOMENOLOGY OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL DEFICIENCY IN A SELECTED POPULATION OF HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS IN RUSSIA

A selected population of 20 heterosexual HIV-positive subjects (CDC II I) were administered neuropsychological tests to assess verbal and vis ual memory, gnostic and visual-constructive activity, organization of motor acts in the hands, and intellectual operations. HIV-infected sub jects differed from the individually matched control group in certain measures of verbal and visual memory (short-term memory), visual-const ructive activity, and intellectual operations. The findings of this st udy indicate that our population of HIV-infected subjects (CDC III) de monstrates cognitive abnormalities and it seems possible to certify th e dynamic inadequacy of the right cerebral hemisphere. Further investi gation is performed to determine the influence of different factors on the development of cognitive abnormalities and reveal the possible co rrelations between neuropsychological impairment, stage of HIV infecti on, and disease progression.