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Visual neglect: Is there a relationship between impaired spatial working memory and re-cancellation?

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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

  1. The exclusion of non-vascular patients did not change the results.

  2. 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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Psychology, Behavior and Cognition, University of Liège, Boulevard du Rectorat, B33, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    Murielle Wansard, Thierry Meulemans & Sophie Gillet

  2. Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Fermin Segovia & Christine Bastin

  3. INSERM-UPMC UMRS 1127, Centre de Recherche de l’Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Brain and Spine Institute, Paris, France

    Monica N. Toba & Paolo Bartolomeo

  4. Fédération de Neurologie, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, Paris, France

    Paolo Bartolomeo

  5. Department of Psychology, Catholic University, Milan, Italy

    Paolo Bartolomeo

Authors
  1. Murielle Wansard
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  2. Thierry Meulemans
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  3. Sophie Gillet
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  4. Fermin Segovia
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  5. Christine Bastin
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  6. Monica N. Toba
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  7. Paolo Bartolomeo
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Correspondence to Murielle Wansard.

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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

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