Neglect video
This patient has neglect, manifested by denial of her left hemibody and extinction to both tactile and visual double-simultaneous stimulation.
[Doctor] Okay, ma’am, can you lift your right hand for me? Good.
[Doctor] Can you lift your left hand for me? Okay, no, I said can you please lift your left hand for me? Okay, put it down.
[Doctor] Ma’am, can you tell me what this is?
[Patient] Hand.
[Doctor] Hand. Right. Whose hand is this?
[Patient] Your hand.
[Doctor] Ma’am, please tell me where I’m touching you. Can you close your eyes for me?
[Patient] Right hand.
[Patient] Left.
[Patient] Right, right.
[Doctor] “Ma’am, can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?
[Patient] Five. One. Five.
About neglect
Neglect is a syndrome of inattention to the left side of the body and space. Patients with the most severe form of neglect have denial of illness and are not aware of the deficits. This is called anosognosia. These patients may not recognize their own left body or left body parts, a syndrome known as asomatognosia. They may also draw only the right side of objects, such as the face of a clock. Patients with less severe forms of neglect often have extinction to double simultaneous stimulation. These patients may be aware of their left-side and their deficits, but on sensory or visual field testing, ignore or extinguish left side stimuli that are presented simultaneously with right-sided stimuli.
Localization
Patients with neglect have lesions in the non-dominant hemisphere, most commonly the right parietal lobe. The non-dominant hemisphere refers to the side of the brain that does not control language function.