© Grant Black/Calgary HeraldUniversity of Calgary neuroscientist Giuseppe Iaria is studying an orientation disorder in which sufferers are unable to mentally map out their surroundings, even in familiar places.
Any curve in the road--or even a hallway that bends--is enough to disorient the 62-year-old to the point where she becomes hopelessly lost.
For Roseman, that disorientation makes everything appear to shift 90 degrees--so west becomes north--leaving her confused and unable to find her way back to her home or office.
"My life is mapped out on straight streets," Roseman said.
Her condition, known as developmental topographical disorientation, was discovered last year by University of Calgary neuroscientist Giuseppe Iaria, who is continuing to study the disorder in the hope of creating a treatment.
Essentially, those suffering from the condition are unable to orient themselves, even in their own homes; once something happens to momentarily interrupt their sense of where they are, they're completely lost.
