Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T03:07:07.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Assessment of spatial attention after brain damage with a dynamic reaction time test

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2005

LEON Y. DEOUELL ,
YARON SACHER  and
NACHUM SOROKER
LEON Y. DEOUELL
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital, Raanana, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
YARON SACHER
Affiliation:
Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital, Raanana, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
NACHUM SOROKER
Affiliation:
Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital, Raanana, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Lateralized spatial biases after brain damage are commonly assessed using batteries of paper-and-pencil tests. These tests hardly allow quantification of performance in different locations in space, and they tend to lose sensitivity along the course of recovery. We tested the dynamic Starry Night Test (SNT), a novel computerized test measuring reaction time and detection accuracy for visual target stimuli in a dynamic background, in 32 inpatients with right hemisphere stroke (RHS), 16 patients with left hemisphere stroke (LHS), and 9 healthy controls. As a group, only the RHS patients were significantly slower to respond to contralesional targets. Individually, 21 (66%) RHS patients and 5 (31%) LHS patients showed statistically significant contralateral deficits. In a number of RHS patients the SNT was more sensitive to the ipsilesional bias of spatial attention than the Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT), a standardized paper-and-pencil test battery of unilateral spatial neglect. Two illustrative case reports show that the dynamic SNT, but not the BIT, was sensitive to the spatial deficit in recovered patients, one of whom was involved in repeated car accidents. The SNT overcomes serious shortcomings of paper-and-pencil tests of unilateral neglect. It provides a simple quantitative tool for monitoring the natural and treatment-induced recovery of patients. (JINS, 2005, 11, 697–707.)Part of the data was presented in abstract form at the EBBS EuroConference on Cognitive and Neural Bases of Spatial Neglect, September 14–17, 2000, Como, Italy.

Keywords

AttentionUnilateral spatial neglectComputer-assisted diagnosisRecovery of FunctionSpace PerceptionReaction time
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 11 , Issue 6 , October 2005 , pp. 697 - 707
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, B. (1996). A mathematical model of line bisection behaviour in neglect. Brain, 119, 841–850.Google Scholar
Anderson, B., Mennemeier, M., & Chatterjee, A. (2000). Variability not ability: Another basis for performance decrements in neglect. Neuropsychologia, 38, 785–796.Google Scholar
Anton, H.A., Hershler, C., Lloyd, P., & Murray, D. (1988). Visual neglect and extinction—A new test. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 69, 1013–1016.Google Scholar
Arguin, M., Joanette, Y., & Cavanagh, P. (1993). Visual-search for feature and conjunction targets with an attention-deficit. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 5, 436–452.Google Scholar
Azouvi, P., Samuel, C., Louis-Dreyfus, A., Bernati, T., Bartolomeo, P., Beis, J.-M., Chokron, S., Leclercq, M., Marchal, F., Martin, Y., de Montety, G., Olivier, S., Perennou, D., Pradat-Diehl, P., Prairial, C., Rode, G., Sieroff, E., Wiart, L., & Rousseaux, M. (2002). Sensitivity of clinical and behavioural tests of spatial neglect after right hemisphere stroke. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 73, 160–166.Google Scholar
Behrmann, M., Ebert, P., & Black, S.E. (2004). Hemispatial neglect and visual search: A large scale analysis. Cortex, 40, 247–263.Google Scholar
Behrmann, M., Watt, S., Black, S.E., & Barton, J.J. (1997). Impaired visual search in patients with unilateral neglect: An oculographic analysis. Neuropsychologia, 35, 1445–1458.Google Scholar
Beis, J.M., Andre, J.M., & Saguez, A. (1994). Detection of visual-field deficits and visual neglect with computerized light-emitting-diodes. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 75, 711–714.Google Scholar
Bowen, A., McKenna, K., & Tallis, R.C. (1999). Reasons for variability in the reported rate of occurrence of unilateral spatial neglect after stroke. Stroke, 30, 1196–1202.Google Scholar
Chelazzi, L., Marzi, C.A., Panozzo, G., Pasqualini, N., Tassinari, G., & Tomazzoli, L. (1988). Hemiretinal differences in speed of light detection in esotropic amblyopes. Vision Research, 28, 95–104.Google Scholar
Cherney, L.R., Halper, A.S., Kwasnica, C.M., Harvey, R.L., & Zhang, M. (2001). Recovery of functional status after right hemisphere stroke: Relationship with unilateral neglect. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 82, 322–328.Google Scholar
Denes, G., Semenza, C., Stoppa, E., & Lis, A. (1982). Unilateral spatial neglect and recovery from hemiplegia: A follow-up study. Brain, 105, 543–552.Google Scholar
Deouell, L.Y., Sacher, Y., & Soroker, N. (2000). Two dimensional gradients of attention to visual space in right hemisphere damage patients: Results from a new dynamic test. Paper presented at the EBBS EuroConference on Cognitive and Neural Bases of Spatial Neglect, Como, Italy.
D'Erme, P., Robertson, I., Bartolomeo, P., Daniele, A., & Gainotti, G. (1992). Early rightwards orienting of attention on simple reaction time performance in patients with left-sided neglect. Neuropsychologia, 30, 989–1000.Google Scholar
Diamond, P.T. (2001). Rehabilitative management of post-stroke visuospatial inattention. Disability and Rehabilitation, 23, 407–412.Google Scholar
Eglin, M., Robertson, L.C., & Knight, R.T. (1989). Visual search performance in the neglect syndrome. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 1, 372–385.Google Scholar
Eglin, M., Robertson, L.C., & Knight, R.T. (1991). Cortical substrates supporting visual search in humans. Cerebral Cortex, 1, 262–272.Google Scholar
Esterman, M., McGlinchey-Berroth, R., & Milberg, W. (2000). Preattentive and attentive visual search in individuals with hemispatial neglect. Neuropsychology, 14, 599–611.Google Scholar
Fisk, G.D., Owsley, C., & Mennemeier, M. (2002). Vision, attention, and self-reported driving behaviors in community-dwelling stroke survivors. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 83, 469–477.Google Scholar
Frassinetti, F., Angeli, V., Meneghello, F., Avanzi, S., & Ladavas, E. (2002). Long-lasting amelioration of visuospatial neglect by prism adaptation. Brain, 125, 608–623.Google Scholar
Friedrich, F.J., Egly, R., Rafal, R.D., & Beck, D. (1998). Spatial attention deficits in humans: A comparison of superior parietal and temporal-parietal junction lesions. Neuropsychology, 12, 193–207.Google Scholar
Geng, J.J. & Behrmann, M. (2002). Selective visual attention and visual search: Behavioral and neural mechanisms. In D. Irwin (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 157–191). New York: Academic Press.
Grabowecky, M., Robertson, L.C., & Treisman, A. (1993). Preattentive processes guide visual-search—Evidence from patients with unilateral visual neglect. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 5, 288–302.Google Scholar
Granger, C.V. (1998). The emerging science of functional assessment: Our tool for outcomes analysis. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 79, 235–240.Google Scholar
Halligan, P.W. & Marshall, J.C. (1992). Left visuo-spatial neglect: A meaningless entity? Cortex, 28, 525–535.Google Scholar
Heilman, K.M., Bowers, D., Valenstein, E., & Watson, R.T. (1987). Hemispace and hemispatial neglect. In M. Jeannerod (Ed.), Neurophysiological and neuropsychological aspects of spatial neglect (pp. 115–149). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Husain, M., Mannan, S., Hodgson, T., Wojciulik, E., Driver, J., & Kennard, C. (2001). Impaired spatial working memory across saccades contributes to abnormal search in parietal neglect. Brain, 124, 941–952.Google Scholar
Karnath, H.O. (1997). Spatial orientation and the representation of space with parietal lobe lesions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 352, 1411–1419.Google Scholar
Katz, N., Hartman-Maeir, A., Ring, H., & Soroker, N. (1999). Functional disability and rehabilitation outcome in right hemisphere damaged patients with and without unilateral spatial neglect. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 80, 379–384.Google Scholar
Kinsbourne, M. (1993). Orientation bias model of unilateral neglect: Evidence from attentional gradients within hemispace. In J.C. Marshall (Ed.), Unilateral neglect: Clinical and experimental studies (pp. 63–86). Hove: Erlbaum.
Kinsella, G. & Ford, B. (1980). Acute recovery from patterns in stroke patients: Neuropsychological factors. The Medical Journal of Australia, 2, 663–666.Google Scholar
Kinsella, G., Packer, S., Ng, K., Olver, J., & Stark, R. (1995). Continuing issues in the assessment of neglect. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 5, 239–258.Google Scholar
Ladavas, E. (1987). Is the hemispatial deficit produced by right parietal lobe damage associated with retinal or gravitational coordinates? Brain, 110, 167–180.Google Scholar
Ladavas, E. (1990). Selective spatial attention in patients with visual extinction. Brain, 113, 1527–1538.Google Scholar
Ladavas, E., Delpesce, M., & Provinciali, L. (1989). Unilateral attention deficits and hemispheric asymmetries in the control of visual-attention. Neuropsychologia, 27, 353–366.Google Scholar
Ladavas, E., Petronio, A., & Umilta, C. (1990). The deployment of visual attention in the intact field of hemineglect patients. Cortex, 26, 307–317.Google Scholar
Laeng, B., Brennen, T., & Espeseth, T. (2002). Fast responses to neglected targets in visual search reflect pre-attentive processes: An exploration of response times in visual neglect. Neuropsychologia, 40, 1622–1636.Google Scholar
Mark, V.W. (2003). Acute versus chronic functional aspects of unilateral spatial neglect. Frontiers in Bioscience, 8, e172–189.Google Scholar
Marzi, C.A., Natale, E., & Anderson, B. (2002). Mapping spatial attention with reaction time in neglect patients. In G. Vallar (Ed.), The cognitive and neural bases of spatial neglect (pp. 275–288). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Parton, A., Malhotra, P., & Husain, M. (2004). Hemispatial neglect. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 75, 13–21.Google Scholar
Pavlovskaya, M., Ring, H., Groswasser, Z., & Hochstein, S. (2002). Searching with unilateral neglect. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 745–756.Google Scholar
Pflugshaupt, T., Bopp, S.A., Heinemann, D., Mosimann, U.P., Von Wartburg, R., Nyffeler, T., Hess, C.W., & Muri, R.M. (2004). Residual oculomotor and exploratory deficits in patients with recovered hemineglect. Neuropsychologia, 42, 1203–1211.Google Scholar
Pierce, S.R. & Buxbaum, L.J. (2002). Treatments of unilateral neglect: A review. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 83, 256–268.Google Scholar
Pizzamiglio, L., Bergego, C., Halligan, P., Homberg, V., Robertson, I., Weber, E., Wilson, B., Zoccolotti, P., & Deloche, G. (1992). Factors affecting the clinical measurement of visuo-spatial neglect. Behavioral Neurology, 5, 233–240.Google Scholar
Posner, M.I., Walker, J.A., Friedrich, F.J., & Rafal, R.D. (1984). Effects of parietal injury on covert orienting of attention. Journal of Neuroscience, 4, 1863–1874.Google Scholar
Posner, M.I., Walker, J.A., Friedrich, F.A., & Rafal, R.D. (1987). How do the parietal lobes direct covert attention? Neuropsychologia, 25, 135–145.Google Scholar
Robertson, I.H. (1999a). Cognitive rehabilitation: Attention and neglect. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 385–393.Google Scholar
Robertson, I.H. (1999b). Setting goals for cognitive rehabilitation. Current Opinions in Neurology, 12, 703–708.Google Scholar
Robertson, I.H. (2001). Do we need the “lateral” in unilateral neglect? Spatially nonselective attention deficits in unilateral neglect and their implications for rehabilitation. Neuroimage, 14, S85–90.Google Scholar
Robertson, L.C., Knight, R.T., & Eglin, M. (2003). Grouping influences in unilateral visual neglect. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 25, 297–307.Google Scholar
Sakashita, Y. (1991). Visual attentional disturbance with unilateral lesions in the basal ganglia and deep white matter. Annals of Neurology, 30, 673–677.Google Scholar
Schendel, K.L. & Robertson, L.C. (2002). Using reaction time to assess patients with unilateral neglect and extinction. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 24, 941–950.Google Scholar
Schubert, F. & Spatt, J. (2001). Double dissociations between neglect tests: Possible relation to lesion site. European Neurology, 45, 160–164.Google Scholar
Seki, K. & Ishiai, S. (1996). Diverse patterns of performance in copying and severity of unilateral spatial neglect. Journal of Neurology, 243, 1–8.Google Scholar
Smania, N., Martini, M.C., Gambina, G., Tomelleri, G., Palamara, A., Natale, E., & Marzi, C.A. (1998). The spatial distribution of visual attention in hemineglect and extinction patients. Brain, 121 (Pt 9), 1759–1770.Google Scholar
Stone, S.P., Patel, P., Greenwood, R.J., & Halligan, P.W. (1992). Measuring visual neglect in acute stroke and predicting its recovery: The visual neglect recovery index. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 55, 431–436.Google Scholar
Sundet, K., Goffeng, L., & Hofft, E. (1995). To drive or not to drive: Neuropsychological assessment for driver's license among stroke patients. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 36, 47–58.Google Scholar
Treisman, A. & Gelade, G. (1980). A feature-integration theory of attention. Cognitive Psychology, 12, 97–136.Google Scholar
Wilson, B., Cockburn, J., & Halligan, P. (1987). Development of a behavioral test of visuospatial neglect. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 68, 98–102.Google Scholar