Attentional neglect Flashcards
What causes attentional neglect?
Damage to areas of the brain that mediate attention
What is the main cause of damage to these areas?
Middle cerebral artery stroke
- blood flow is prevented to this area which causes the cells to die meaning ability is lost in this area
What is visual neglect?
Where the patient appears to ignore, forget or turn away from the left side of space (Mesalum, 1985).
What other names are given to visual neglect?
- unilateral neglect
- hemispatial neglect
- hemi-inattentional neglect
- visuo-spatial neglect
- contralesional neglect
What is ipsalateral neglect?
Where the visual field that is neglected is the same side as the lesion in the hemisphere
- eg left hemi damaged = left field neglect
What is contralateral neglect and why is this more distinct than ipsalateral neglect?
Where the visual field that is neglected is the opposite side to the lesion in the hemisphere
- eg right hemi damage = left field neglect
- it is more common that contralateral neglect occurs in the left field than the right.
What 4 extents of spatial neglect are there?
- personal (space) neglect
- peripersonal (space) neglect
- extrapersonal (space) neglect
- representational neglect
What is personal (space) neglect? Give an example.
Own body space
- may deny ownership of own limb.
What is anosognosia?
The impaired ability to perceive their deficit - makes it difficult to treat.
What clinical tests are there for visual neglect? (5)
- MRI scan
- line bisection
- cancellation tasks
- figure copying
- reading tasks
What rehabilitation techniques are there for visual neglect? (3)
- Prism adaption therapy
- eye patching
- TMS
What does prism adaption therapy involve?
The prisms realign the visual field, bringing the neglected side of space back into attentional focus.
What does eye patching do?
- reduces input from the intact ipsalateral side of space
- forces head movement
- some debates about its effectiveness (Walker, 2016) - but it is still considered as a treatment.
How is TMS used to rehabilitate those who suffer from visual neglect?
It stimulates the neglected areas of the brain.
