Affiliations: INSERM, UMR-S 534, Espace et Action, Bron, F-69500,
France | Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, Lyon,
F-69000, France | Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento,
Rovereto, 38068, Italy | Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli
Studi di Bologna, Bologna, 40100, Italy
Note: [] Corresponding author: A. Farnè, Espace et Action, UMR-S
534, INSERM-UCBL, AVENIR Team "Multisensory space & action" 16 av. Doyen
Lépine, 69500 Bron, France. Tel.: +33 0 4 72913412; Fax: +33 0 4
72913401; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Purpose: The interest in human conscious awareness has increasingly
propelled the study of neglect, the most striking occurrence of an acquired
lack of conscious experience of space. Neglect syndromes commonly arise after
unilateral brain damage that spares primary sensory areas nonetheless leading
to a lack of conscious stimulus perception. Because of the central role of
vision in our everyday life and motor behaviour, most research on neglect has
been carried out in the visual domain. Here, we suggest that a comprehensive
perspective on neglect should examine in parallel evidence from all sensory
modalities. Methods: We critically reviewed relevant literature on neglect
within and between sensory modalities. Results: A number of studies have investigated manifestations of
neglect in the tactile and auditory modalities, as well as in the chemical
senses, supporting the idea that neglect can arise in various sensory
modalities, either separately or concurrently. Moreover, studies on extinction
(i.e., failure to report the contralesional stimulus only when this is
delivered together with a concurrent one in the ipsilesional side), a deficit
to some extent related to neglect, showed strong interactions between sensory
modality for the conscious perception of stimuli and representation of space.
Conclusions: Examining neglect and extinction by taking into account
evidence from all sensory modalities in parallel can provide deeper
comprehension of the neglect syndrome mechanisms and possibly more effective
multi-sensory based rehabilitation approaches.
