Attention networks and their interactions after right-hemisphere damage

Ana B. Chica, Michel Thiebaut de Schotten, Monica Toba, Paresh Malhotra, Juan Lupiáñez, Paolo Bartolomeo
Cortex. 2012-06-01; 48(6): 654-663
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.01.009

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1. Cortex. 2012 Jun;48(6):654-63. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.01.009. Epub 2011 Feb
3.

Attention networks and their interactions after right-hemisphere damage.

Chica AB(1), Thiebaut de Schotten M, Toba M, Malhotra P, Lupiáñez J, Bartolomeo
P.

Author information:
(1)INSERM-U975, Centre de Recherche de l’Institut du Cerveau et de la Moëlle
Epinière, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière,
Paris, France.

Unilateral spatial neglect is a disabling condition, frequently observed after
right-hemisphere damage (RHD), and associated with poor functional recovery.
Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that attentional impairments are
prominent in neglect. Recent brain imaging and behavioral studies in neglect
patients and healthy individuals have provided insights into the mechanisms of
attention and have revealed interactions between putative attentional networks.
We recruited 16 RHD patients and 16 neurologically intact observers to perform a
lateralized version of the Attention Network Test devised by Posner and
co-workers (Fan et al., 2002). The results showed evidence of interaction between
attentional networks during conflict resolution. Phasic alertness improved the
orienting deficit to left-sided targets, reducing the interference of distracters
in the neglected visual field, thus facilitating conflict resolution in the
majority of patients. Modulating alertness may be an important way of improving
basic deficits associated with neglect, such as those affecting spatial
orienting.

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.01.009
PMID: 21377668 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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