Examination of Discrepancies in the Assessment of Anosognosia for Spatial Neglect

Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) has been rigorously studied because it significantly affects multiple aspects of life. Research on anosognosia for spatial neglect (ASN), however, is limited.

To investigate whether the frequency and severity of ASN vary based on task, using items from the Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS) and the Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT).

Forty-four individuals with initial right hemisphere damage and a positive result on the CBS or BIT were included in the current study. The frequency of ASN was calculated for each item, followed by an analysis of the level of agreement between assessments conducted by the examiner and patient self-assessments using the Kappa coefficient.

The frequency of ASN varied between the CBS (36.0%-74.2%) and the BIT (26.7%-85.7%). On the CBS, the knowledge of left limbs ( k = 0.205), moving (collisions) ( k = 0.184), and finding personal belongings ( k = 0.143) tasks demonstrated significant concordance. Similarly, on the BIT, the letter cancellation ( k = 0.198), star cancellation ( k = 0.143), figure and shape copying ( k = 0.350), and representational drawing ( k = 0.475) tasks showed significant concordance.

These findings suggest that the type of USN and task characteristics may influence the frequency and severity of ASN. Increased awareness of these findings may result in rehabilitation interventions that consider these factors for individuals with USN.