Peripheral and bimanual reaching in a stroke survivor with left visual neglect and extinction

Abstract

Whether attentional deficits are accompanied by visuomotor impairments following posterior parietal lesions has been debated for quite some time. This single-case study investigated reaching in a stroke survivor (E.B.) with left visual neglect and visual extinction following right temporo-parietal-frontal strokes. Unlike most neglect patients, E.B. did not present left hemiparesis, homonymous hemianopia nor show evidence of motor neglect or extinction allowing us to examine, for the first time, if lateralised attentional deficits co-occur with deficits in peripheral and bimanual reaching. First, we found a classic optic ataxia field effect: E.B.’s accuracy was impaired when reaching to peripheral targets in her neglected left visual field (regardless of the hand used). Second, we found a larger bimanual cost for movement time in E.B. than controls when both hands reached to incongruent locations. E.B.’s visuomotor profile is similar to the one of patients with optic ataxia showing that attentional deficits are accompanied by visuomotor deficits in the affected field.