title: Transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the neck muscles and hemineglect rehabilitation.
abstract: In four patients with left visuo-spatial hemineglect and right brain- damage, the therapeutic effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nervous Stimulation (TENS) of the left neck muscles, associated with a non-specific treatment, and of a specific rehabilitation paradigm were investigated. The two treatments were given for an 8-week period each. TENS had positive effects on hemineglect in two out of four patients, whereas the specific treatment produced a major improvement of the disorder in all four cases. The suggestion is made that an effective treatment of neglect requires a paradigm comprising a range of visuo-spatial exploratory tasks of increasing complexity and a systematic feedback as to the success of the patients' performance. This is the case of the specific treatment. By contrast a procedure confined to a sensory stimulation, which produces a short-term improvement in the range of minutes, does not have comparable long-term effects. © 1996 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Roma 'La Sapienza', Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy IRCCS, S. Lucia, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pizzamiglio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vallar
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Magnotti