What Is Spatial Neglect?


Right hemisphere stroke often results in Visuo-Spatial Neglect, an attention disorder that makes it difficult to pay attention to the left side of the body or world. Individuals with neglect often leave food on the left side of their plate, forget to dress the left side of their body, or bump into things on the left. This problem makes it difficult to go back to independent living. 

This figure shows an example of how spatial neglect affects a person's ability to copy drawings underneath a line. Note the absence of left-sided details and omission of left-sided figures. 

Neglect