[Right hemisphere syndrome]

The right hemisphere syndrome is considered an area bordering on neurology, psychology, and psychiatry, a field today referred to as "neuropsychology". This syndrome as a rule is secondary to a right-hemisphere stroke, and in particular involves spatial disorders and constructional apraxia. Among the spatial disorders, the so-called neglect syndrome can be distinguished, i.e. unilateral spatial disorders pertinent to the left side. The right hemisphere syndrome constitutes an impairment of identification, of synthesizing perceptions that the sense organs, notably the eyes, deliver to the brain. It therefore is not a disturbance of perception, but of the processing of sensory information. The sense organs usually are intact, and there is no dementia. The so-called right hemisphere syndrome is not of scientific interest alone. Rather, in view of appropriate patient management and of not mistaking patients for demented or uncooperative, this syndrome must be diagnosed and treated in an early enough stage. Given correct diagnosis and treatment, the prognostic outlook is better in this syndrome than in the purely motor conditions.