The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

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ArticleTitle	Evaluation of unilateral spatial neglect and related disorders after right-hemisphere stroke
Language	J
AuthorList	Sumio Ishiai
Affiliation	Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine
Publication	Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 30 (2), 125-134, 2014
Received
Accepted
Abstract	Patients with right-hemisphere stroke may develop characteristic neuropsychological disorders for the left side of space or their left paretic extremities; unilateral spatial neglect, anosognosia for hemiplegia, and asomatognosia (hemiasomatognosia). Unilateral spatial neglect is a failure to find, report, or respond to stimuli contralateral to a hemispheric lesion. Patients with neglect may show difficulties in coping with wide range of daily activities, as neglect emerges in the condition where movements of the eyes and head are not restricted. The traditional typical tests for neglect are the cancellation tests, the copying of figures, the line bisection test, and the representational drawing from memory. The conventional test of the Behavioural inattention test (BIT) comprises these tests. Patients with right-hemisphere stroke should be carefully evaluated with the BIT and observed not to overlook neglect-related behaviors in their daily activities. Anosognosia is the phenomenon for patients with acute right-hemisphere stroke to be unaware of or deny their hemiplegia/hemiparesis. Anosognosia should be detected with appropriate inquiries and observations, as those patients would not complain this phenomenon. Also, asomatognosia, which is defined as unawareness of ownership of one's paretic left extremities, is usually found when patients with this disorder are asked appropriately about the ownership of those extremities.
Keywords	unilateral spatial neglect, Behavioural inattention test (BIT), anosognosia, (hemi)asomatognosia, somatoparaphrenia