Callosal disconnection neglect: reassessment after 34 years

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neurorehabilitation

Background:

• A patient previously exhibited "callosal disconnection neglect" following anterior corpus callosum infarction.
• This neglect manifested as significant deviations in line bisection tasks, with greater errors in the contralateral hemispace.

Observation:

• The patient was retested 34 years after the initial assessment using visual line-bisection tasks.
• Performance was evaluated with lines presented in right, left, and center hemispaces, using either the right or left hand.

Findings:

• Current performance showed no significant main effects for hand or spatial position, a marked improvement from prior testing.
• The patient's recent performance mirrored that of healthy control groups, indicating resolution of neglect.

Implications:

• This case suggests potential recovery from callosal disconnection neglect over long periods.
• Possible mechanisms include hemispheric adaptation for ipsilateral spatial attention or learned compensatory strategies.