Weegy: The evaluation of somatic sensation, or any sensory modality for that mattter, is highly dependent on the ability and desire of the patient to cooperate. [ Sensation belongs to the patient (i.e., is subjective) and the examiner must therefore depend almost entirely on their reliability. For example, a patient with dementia or a psychotic patient is likely to give only the crudest, if any, picture of their perception of sensory stimuli. An intelligent, stable patient may refine asymmetries of stimulus intensity to such a degree that insignificant differences in sensation are reported, only confusing the picture. Suggestion can also modify a subject's response to a marked degree (e.g., to ask a patient where a stimulus changes suggests that it must change and may therefore create false lines of demarcation in an all too cooperative patient). Obviously the examiner must not waste time and efficiency on detailed sensory testing of the psychotic or demented patient, and must warn even the most cooperative patient that minute differences requiring more than a moment to decipher are probably of no significance. Additionally, the examiner must avoid any hint of predisposition or suggestion. Nonetheless, even after all precautions are taken, problems with the sensory exam still arise. Uniformity in testing is almost impossible and there is considerable variability of response in the same patient. ]
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