Neglect as a disorder of prior probability.
Subjects with spatial neglect are slower and more variable in detecting visual targets, especially on the side opposite their brain injuries. These deficits can be seen by plotting cumulative distribution functions (CDF) of response times (RT). I demonstrate that dividing RT's by their means normalizes the RT CDF's of neglect subjects. The motivation for this transformation comes from Carpenter's LATER model [Carpenter, R. H. S., & Williams, M. L. L. (1995). Neural computation of log likelihood in control of saccadic eye movements. Nature, 377, 59-62]. The most direct interpretation of this result is that some symptoms of neglect reflect abnormal estimates of stimulus prior probability.
Anderson
Britt
B
Brown University, Department of Neuroscience, Providence, RI 02912, USA. britt@uwaterloo.ca
D000465:Algorithms; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011336:Probability; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology