The influence of neglected stimuli on free drawing in a patient with hemi-inattention.
A patient with severe left hemi-inattention was found to be influenced by neglected stimuli in free drawing tasks. He was presented 64 sheets of paper: 32 had geometric figures on the left side and 32 on the right side. The patient was asked what he saw and invited to draw a subject of his choice on the sheet of paper. The patient always denied seeing anything when the figures were on the left side, while he identified the figures on the right side. Four judges examined the patient's drawings and all of them agreed that 11 drawings were influenced by neglected stimuli and none by non-neglected ones. The drawings he made were similar but not the exact reproduction of neglected figures. This finding confirms that visual processing can proceed without awareness in a patient with hemi-inattention.
Grossi
D
D
Seconda Clinica Neurologica, Facoltà di Medicina, Università Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
Correra
G
G
Calise
C
C
D000368:Aged; D001072:Apraxias / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005556:Form Perception; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014794:Visual Fields