Unilateral Neglect

Original Editor - Emily Wood

Lead Editors   - Kathy Bueckert

Definition

Unilateral neglect is an attention disorder that arises as a result of injury to the cerebral cortex (Hills, 2006;). Unilateral neglect could also be known as contralateral neglect, hemispatial neglect, visuospatial neglect, spatial neglect, or hemi-neglect (Menon, Plummer). In unilateral neglect, patients fail to report, respond or orient to meaningful stimuli presented on the affected side (Menon). In most cases, the right parietal cortex is injured and the left side of the body and/or space is/are ignored (Yang, Zhou, Chung, Li-Tsang, & Fong, 2013). Neglect is a heterogenous condition; different individuals may present different symptoms. Neglect may, involve various modalities, including visual, auditory, somatosensory or kinetic (Yang et al., 2013). Unilateral neglect is generally classified in one of two ways: by the modality that is affected or by the space that is affected (i.e. personal or extra personal space). It is important to remember that these classifications may overlap and intersect. (Plummer)

Mechanism of Injury / Pathological Process

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Clinical Presentation

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Diagnostic Procedures

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Outcome Measures

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Management / Interventions

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Differential Diagnosis

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Key Evidence

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