title: Perseveration in left spatial neglect: drawing and cancellation tasks.
abstract: Perseveration in target cancellation tasks and in drawing by copy and from memory was investigated in 21 right-brain-damaged patients, seven with no evidence of left visuo-spatial neglect, and 14 with neglect. Eight such neglect patients showed perseveration in both cancellation and drawing tasks, although no correlation was found with the severity of neglect. Patients with perseveration were not disproportionately impaired in tasks assessing executive (fluency, Stroop colour-word interference, and Weigl's sorting test), and visuo-spatial short-term memory function. In the context of a two-component hypothesis, graphic perseveration (the first component) is a specific disorder that manifests in a variety of tasks, particularly those requiring serial graphic production. Unilateral spatial neglect (the second component) may trigger and facilitate the production of perseveration errors, with a contra-ipsilateral gradient of increasing severity.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors: Roberta
authors: R
authors: Ronchi
authors: Lucio
authors: L
authors: Posteraro
authors: Paola
authors: P
authors: Fortis
authors: Emanuela
authors: E
authors: Bricolo
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: Vallar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013028:Space Perception; D014794:Visual Fields; D014796:Visual Perception