unilateral spatial neglect

Susceptibility to multitasking in chronic stroke is associated to damage of the multiple demand system and leads to lateralized visuospatial deficits. A new paper discussing multitasking as a tool to unveil subtle deficits after stroke. We argue that attentional load provides a simple strategy, firmly grounded in theory, to study the gray area in which stroke can or cannot result in stark deficits. This is an opportunity to better frame the mismatch between the amount of brain damage and its consequences, in an era in which this line is becoming increasingly blurred.

Unilateral brain damage following stroke frequently hampers the processing of contralesional space. Whether and how it also affects the processing of stimuli appearing on the same side of the lesion is still poorly understood.

Unilateral Spatial Neglect, the most dramatic manifestation of contralesional space unawareness, is a highly heterogeneous syndrome. The presence of neglect is related to core spatially lateralized deficits, but its severity is also modulated by several domain-general factors (such as alertness or sustained attention) and by task demands.