Deficits in peripheral visual attention in patients with optic ataxia

Faculty Advisor
Date
2007
Keywords
optic ataxia, covert attention, intraparietal sulcus, parietal lobe, stimulus salience
Abstract (summary)
Previous research has suggested that optic ataxia – a deficit in reaching in peripheral vision, can be isolated from Balint’s syndrome as it is primarily a visuomotor disorder, independent of perceptual or attentional deficits. Yet, almost no research has examined the attentional abilities of these patients. We examined peripheral visual attention in two patients with unilateral optic ataxia. Results indicated that both patients were slower to respond to targets in their ataxic visual field, irrespective of cuing condition (i.e., validly, invalidly, and no cue conditions), consistent with an overall decrease in the salience of stimuli in the ataxic field. Attentional deficits in peripheral vision are therefore an important factor to consider when examining visuomotor control deficits in optic ataxia.
Publication Information
Striemer C., Blangero A., Boisson D., Rode G., Vighetto A., Rosetti Y., Pisella L. & Danckert J. (2007). Deficits in peripheral visual attention in patients with optic ataxia. Neuroreport, 18, (11), 1171-1175. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0b013e32820049bd
Notes
Item Type
Article Post-Print
Language
English
Rights
All Rights Reserved