Modeling visuospatial perception in neglect patients
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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Virtual Reality Tools for Assessing Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Novel Opportunity for Data Collection
Published on: March 10, 2021
Jochen Ditterich1, Ingo Keller, Thomas Eggert
1Center for Sensorimotor Research, Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. jd@heidegger.rprc.washington.edu
Abstract:
The spatial distortion hypothesis is one of several theories that explain certain aspects of neglect in patients with right parietal lesions. To determine whether a distorted representation of space can account for the performance of neglect patients in different visuospatial tasks, we asked 26 neglect patients to: (1) bisect horizontal lines and (2) to compare the width of two horizontally aligned bars. A simple mathematical model compatible with the idea of a stationary distortion of represented space in egocentric coordinates explained the results of the line-bisection task. A second model that had basically the same structure and was compatible with the idea of a distorted egocentric representation based on a dynamic remapping of space approximated the size-comparison data. These results support the view that abnormalities observed in the line-bisection and size-comparison tasks are due to a distorted internal representation of the external world. Certain findings suggest that this distortion could be based on a dynamic mapping of space determined by the distribution of visuospatial attention.
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