Abstract
In visual search tasks, neglect patients tend to explore and repeatedly re-cancel stimuli on the ipsilesional side, as if they did not realize that they had previously examined the rightward locations favoured by their lateral bias. The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that a spatial working memory deficit explains these ipsilesional re-cancellation errors in neglect patients. For the first time, we evaluated spatial working memory and re-cancellation through separate and independent tasks in a group of patients with right hemisphere damage and a diagnosis of left neglect. Results showed impaired spatial working memory in neglect patients. Compared to the control group, neglect patients cancelled fewer targets and made more re-cancellations both on the left side and on the right side. The spatial working memory deficit appears to be related to re-cancellations, but only for some neglect patients. Alternative interpretations of re-exploration of space are discussed.
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Notes
The exclusion of non-vascular patients did not change the results.
Lesion volume appeared to be greater in the four neglect patients with high re-cancellation rates and spatial working memory deficits than in the other neglect patients. The neuropsychological evaluation did not reveal a particular distinct pattern of impairment in these four patients in comparison to the other patients. Additional anatomical analyses on subgroups of patients also did not uncover any particular lesion sites related to their cognitive profiles.
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Wansard, M., Meulemans, T., Gillet, S. et al. Visual neglect: Is there a relationship between impaired spatial working memory and re-cancellation?. Exp Brain Res 232, 3333–3343 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-014-4028-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-014-4028-4