[Role of rehabilitation in hemineglect syndromes]

Unilateral neglect syndrome compromises functional outcome of left hemiparetic patients. Treatment of this syndrome is a challenge in motor rehabilitation in order to reduce the incapacity and improve the prognosis. In this study, we present a review of the literature focusing on the different rehabilitation techniques proposed and their theoretical basis: improvement of the ability to maintain attention, improvement of spatial selective attention by implicit or explicit cueing, reduction of rightward orienting bias by sensory manipulations. Recently, we reported the improvement of symptoms of unilateral neglect syndrome after a prism adaptation to a rightward optical deviation. Unlike previous physiological manipulations used to improve neglect, this improvement lasted for at least two hours after prism removal. These results are most promising for rehabilitation programs. They may be linked to a stimulation of a short-term plasticity of brain functions and underline the interest of action in rehabilitation of neglect.