[Left unilateral spatial neglect and its relation to testing methods, neurological manifestations and lesion site]

Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) was assessed in 148 right-handed stroke patients with lesions confined to the right cerebral hemisphere. We focused our study on the USN-positive rates according to method of testing, its association with other neurological findings, and the site of the lesion on X-ray CT scans. Left USN was found in 57 of the 148 patients. There were no significant differences in positive rates on each of the 4 tasks adopted in this study. USN was significantly correlated with hemianopia but not with anosognosia for hemianopia. USN was also significantly correlated with degree of both motor and sensory impairments. Pathologically, no USN was found in patients with lesions in the prerolandic area, but the USN-positive rate was high among patients with lesions in the postrolandic lesions. These findings are discussed in comparison with those of several previous studies.