[Spatial neglect]

Abstract

Unilateral spatial (hemi-)neglect or (hemi-)inattention are clinical terms used to describe a number of different clinical symptoms which have in common the patient's failure to attend to, respond adequately to, or orient voluntarily to people or objects in the contralesional space. Unilateral spatial neglect is most often observed following brain lesions affecting the right hemisphere, and in particular the right inferior parietal cortex (angular and supramarginal gyrus) and right temporoparietal junction. Importantly, the term hemineglect cannot be meaningfully used if the target behavior is explained by primary sensory or motor deficits only. Typically the patient's deficit is supramodal: patients with hemineglect fail to respond to novel or meaningful stimuli irrespective of whether they are presented in the visual, auditory, and somesthetic (somatosensory) domain. As adequate perception and spatial representation of both the body and the outside world are mandatory for almost all activities of daily living, hemineglect is known to limit the degree of active participation in rehabilitation programs and is thus commonly associated with poor functional recovery and less successful social reintegration. A number of new promising behavioral and pharmacological treatments may help to ameliorate neglect in the future.