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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Virtual Reality Tools for Assessing Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Novel Opportunity for Data Collection
Published on: March 10, 2021
Eastchester clapping sign: a novel test of parietal neglect
Lyle W Ostrow1, Rafael H Llinás
1Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
Hand clapping is a motor program mastered in infancy. Inspired by a question posed by an Eastchester High School AP Psychology class, we present a case series of 14 patients with hemispatial neglect who, when asked to clap, repeatedly performed one-handed motions stopping abruptly at the midline of the visual hemispace, as if pantomiming slapping an invisible board. In contrast, hemiplegic patients without neglect will reach across and clap against their plegic hands. This phenomenon provides an easy, rapid, and unambiguous test for neglect, applicable to patients of any ethnicity or age. Ann Neurol 2009;66:114-117.
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