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Multisensory integration: attending to seen and felt hands.
1Neuropsychology Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Kings College, UK. d.carey@abdn.ac.uk
Current Biology : CB
|December 15, 2000
Summary
Brain-damaged patients experiencing spatial neglect can improve with cues. Simultaneously seeing and feeling the hand also helps, highlighting somatosensory-visual interactions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Spatial neglect is a deficit where patients ignore one side of space.
- This condition often results from brain damage, particularly to the parietal lobe.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate methods for ameliorating spatial neglect.
- To explore the role of somatosensory-visual interactions in spatial awareness.
Main Methods:
- Cueing patients to the neglected side of space.
- Examining the effect of simultaneous visual and somatosensory stimulation of the hand.
Main Results:
- Cueing significantly improved attention to the neglected side of space.
- Simultaneous visual and tactile stimulation of the hand demonstrated a related ameliorating effect.
Conclusions:
- Spatial neglect can be effectively treated with targeted sensory cueing.
- Somatosensory-visual integration plays a crucial role in spatial attention and neglect.