Synonyms
Hemi-neglect; Unilateral neglect
Definition
Hemi-attention is the failure to respond to sensory stimuli within one hemispace after an acquired lesion to the contralateral hemisphere of the brain. Hemi-attention is observed more frequently after damage to the right hemisphere than the left, and may result from lesions within several brain regions including parietal cortex, frontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, basal ganglia, or cerebellum. A patient with hemi-attention syndrome faces significant difficulties in day-to-day life, as he/she may fail to identify objects on one side of the visual field, fail to localize sounds originating from the contralesional hemispace, fail to dress one side of his/her body, or shave one side of his face. Hemi-attention patients are often unaware that they have any deficit. For many patients the symptoms of hemi-attention syndrome resolve over the course of several months.
Cross-References
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsAuthor information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Harris, J.L. (2018). Hemi-attention Syndrome. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_322
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_322
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences