Abstract
Up to now, rehabilitation of unilateral spatial neglect has focused on egocentric forms of neglect, whereas less is known about the possibility to improve allocentric deficits. The present study aimed to examine the efficacy of prism adaptation (PA) training on patients with different forms of neglect: egocentric, allocentric, or mixed. Twenty-eight patients were assessed with specific neglect tests before (T0) and after (T1) 10 sessions of PA training. Performance in the Apples Cancellation test was used to identify patients with egocentric (n = 6), allocentric (n = 5), or mixed (n = 17) forms of neglect. In the overall group of patients, PA training produced significant improvements in performance across different neglect tests. In terms of the egocentric–allocentric distinction, the training was effective in reducing omissions in the left part of space in the Apples Cancellation test both for patients with egocentric neglect and mixed neglect. By contrast, errors of commissions (marking the inability to detect the left part of the target stimulus, i.e., allocentric neglect) remained unchanged after PA in patients with allocentric neglect and actually increased marginally in patients with mixed neglect. The PA training is effective in improving egocentric neglect, while it is ineffective on the allocentric form of the disturbance. Notably, the allocentric component of neglect is frequently impaired, although this is most often in conjunction with the egocentric impairment, yielding the mixed form of neglect. This stresses the importance of developing exercises tuned to improving allocentric neglect.
Highlights
Unilateral spatial neglect is defined as a deficit in responding, orienting, or initiating action toward contralesional stimuli [1]
Up to now, rehabilitation of unilateral spatial neglect has focused on egocentric forms of neglect, whereas less is known about the possibility to improve allocentric deficits
The prism adaptation (PA) training is effective in improving egocentric neglect, while it is ineffective on the allocentric form of the disturbance
Summary
Unilateral spatial neglect is defined as a deficit in responding, orienting, or initiating action toward contralesional stimuli [1]. Neglect affects perception and mental representation of spatial information, as well as planning and execution of motor actions. This disorder disrupts essential functions of daily life, affecting late functional outcome [2,3], prolonging inpatient rehabilitation facility stay [2,3,4], increasing the risk of falls [3,5], and decreasing the likelihood of home return even after completion of intensive rehabilitation programs [2,3,6]. Brain Sci. 2019, 9, 327 or other target stimuli on the left side of a sheet of paper [7], whereas other patients show errors on the left side of every object (allocentric neglect) regardless of its position in space [7,8,9,10,11].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
