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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
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Virtual Reality Tools for Assessing Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Novel Opportunity for Data Collection
Published on: March 10, 2021
Rightward collisions and their association with pseudoneglect
Michael E R Nicholls1, Andrea M Loftus, Catherine A Orr
1Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Swanston Street, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia. mike.nicholls@unimelb.edu.au
Brain and Cognition
|May 23, 2008
Summary
People exhibit a rightward spatial bias, bumping into objects more often on their right. This study found this tendency persists even during phone use, linking observable bumping to pseudoneglect.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Behavior
Background:
- Right parietal lobe damage causes left hemineglect.
- Healthy individuals display a subtle rightward spatial bias, termed pseudoneglect.
- Prior research linked rightward collisions during projectile firing to pseudoneglect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate rightward bumping bias during walking.
- To determine if unimanual activity influences this bias.
- To explore the relationship between observable bumping and line bisection performance.
Main Methods:
- 149 participants walked through a doorway three times.
- Participants entered text on a phone using the left, right, or both hands.
- Bumping incidents and line bisection performance were recorded.
Main Results:
- Participants bumped to the right more frequently, irrespective of hand used for phone interaction.
- Unimanual activity did not significantly affect the rightward bumping bias.
- A novel association was found between bumping bias and line bisection performance.
Conclusions:
- A consistent rightward spatial bias exists during locomotion, unrelated to aiming.
- The lack of unimanual effect may stem from reduced motor activity compared to prior studies.
- Observable unilateral bumping is a potential indicator of underlying pseudoneglect.
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