[Unilateral neglect: a review of causes, anatomical localization, theories and interventions]

Unilateral neglect is usually caused by right hemisphere damage from stroke, leading to difficulties in attending to stimuli in the left perceptual hemifield. As an example, a patient suffering from neglect may read only the right part of a word or the right part of sentences, or eat only from the right side his plate. Neglect is more common, and most often more severe, following infarcts in the right hemisphere than the left. Brain damage leading to neglect usually involves infarcts in the inferior parietal lobe, temporo-parietal junction and/or the superior temporal lobe. Most theories of the nature of neglect assume that neglect involves dysfunctional attentional mechanisms. Increased understanding of neglect has led to the development of several effective therapeutic interventions, where prism adaptation has received the most attention in recent years. This article reviews brain damage in neglect, theories of neglect, therapeutic methods for neglect and their possible future developments.