Visual neglect can be object-based or scene-based depending on task representation

Abstract

Three patients with visual neglect were tested on their ability to detect target letters at ipsilesional and contralesional locations on a monitor, and at different locations within large shapes on the monitor. When patients were asked to detect targets within the entire monitor, they showed neglect for all the contralesional hemifield. In contrast when they were asked to detect targets within a particular object, they showed object-based neglect. In these two conditions the displays, the targets and the response were identical, with the only difference being the space that is represented for the task. These results show that the reference frame of visual neglect may be altered by task-instructions changing how a structured visual scene is represented, with neglect applying to the contralesional side of this represented space.