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The role of vision in spatial representation
Sylvie Chokron1, Pascale Colliot, Paolo Bartolomeo
1Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition, CNRS, UMR 5105, Grenoble, France. chokron@ext.jussieu.fr
Summary
Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) signs may decrease or disappear when visual feedback is removed, even during mental imagery tasks. This suggests vision influences attention orientation in spatial representation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is a complex deficit, not solely perceptual, and can manifest across non-visual modalities and mental imagery.
- Despite its supramodal nature, USN symptoms are often more pronounced and persistent in the visual domain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of vision on spatial representation in patients with USN.
- To assess how visual control impacts spatial tasks performed in mental imagery.
Main Methods:
- Six right brain-damaged patients with left USN performed clock-drawing and memory-drawing tasks.
- Tasks were conducted under two conditions: with and without visual control.
Main Results:
- Absence of visual feedback reduced or eliminated left USN signs during mental imagery tasks.
- This suggests that visual input significantly impacts the manifestation and severity of USN.
Conclusions:
- Vision plays a crucial role in orienting attention in space, influencing the spatial representation of neglect patients.
- Removing visual control may help re-orient attention away from the ipsilesional hemispace towards the neglected hemispace, offering therapeutic potential.