Stimulus- and goal-driven biases of selective attention following unilateral brain damage: Implications for rehabilitation of spatial neglect and extinction

Abstract

In this review we address the question of whether selective attentional mechanisms within the ipsilesional field are intact in unilateral lesion patients with spatial neglect and extinction. We consider how a lesion-induced bias in the neural representation of salience critically disrupts the integration of goal-driven and stimulus-driven prioritization signals. This has important consequences for selectivity both within the 'impaired' contralesional field within the 'intact' ipsilesional field. Examples are drawn from the neuropsychological literature and recent experiments conducted within our own laboratory. The implications of ipsilesional spatial selection deficits for rehabilitation are discussed.