Does prism adaptation affect visual search in spatial neglect patients: A systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Prism adaptation (PA) is a common intervention for visuospatial neglect.
• Visual search tasks are used to assess PA-induced improvements.
• The most sensitive outcome measures for PA effects in neglect are not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and evaluate the effects of prism adaptation on various visual search outcome measures in patients with neglect.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search identified 403 studies, with 30 meeting inclusion criteria for PA intervention in neglect patients using visual search tasks.
• Study quality was assessed, with 7 ranked moderate-to-high and 23 ranked low.
• Data on study content and effectiveness were extracted.

Main Results:

• Moderate-to-high-ranking studies focusing on cancellation tasks (measuring omissions/hits) showed overall improvement after PA.
• Limited data from low-ranking studies suggest PA improves perseverations and task duration in visual search.
• Feature search was underrepresented, limiting conclusions on its response to PA.

Conclusions:

• Prism adaptation demonstrates an overall effect on visual search performance in neglect.
• There is a need for more research using complex visual search tasks and specific measures like perseverations, search path, and speed-accuracy trade-off to better understand PA's impact.