Left Visuo-Spatial Neglect: A Meaningless Entity?

Six patients with unilateral right hemisphere damage are reported. Each patient performed two tasks that are traditionally regarded as diagnostic for left (peripersonal) visuospatial neglect: target cancellation and horizontal line bisection. Two patients were unimpaired on both tasks, and two were impaired on both. The two remaining patients showed a classic (and reliable) double-dissociation between the tasks. One of the patients who scored within normal limits on both cancellation and bisection showed left sided omissions on representational drawing. We argue that these results question the validity of any unitary concept of unilateral visuo-spatial neglect in peripersonal space.

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