Judgment of line orientation in patients with unilateral cerebrovascular lesions

This study examined the relationship between visual neglect and ability to judge the angular orientation of lines in patients with unilateral cerebrovascualar lesions. Participants were 75 patients with right-hemisphere cerebrovascular lesions (RCVA) and 39 patients with left-hemisphere cerebrovascular lesions (LCVA). All were administered the Judgment of Line Orientation test (JLO). Results revealed that twice as many RCVA patients (56%) exhibited impairment on the JLO as did LCVA patients (26%). In RCVA patients, much lower performance was seen in patients with left visual neglect. Among LCVA patients, no relationship was found between JLO performance and the presence of visual neglect. Correlations between JLO scores and WAIS-R variables suggested that JLO performance may be related in part to general cognitive factors, as well as to other perceptual and spatial abilities.