Affiliations: Dipartimento di Neurologia, Oftalmologia,
Otorinolaringoiatria e Psichiatria, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy | Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Torino,
Torino, Italy
Note: [] Corresponding author: Filippo Brighina, Via G. La Loggia, 1,
90129, Palermo, Italy. Fax: +390916555102; E-mail: fbrighina@neuro.unipa.it
Abstract: Hemispatial neglect refers to the defective ability of patients to
explore or act upon the side of space contralateral to the lesion and to attend
to stimuli presented in that portion of space. Evidence from animal models
suggests that many of the behavioural sequelae associated with visual neglect
may result not solely from the size of the lesion, but also from a pathological
state of increased inhibition exerted on the damaged hemisphere by the
contralesional hemisphere. On the basis of these potential mechanisms
underlying neglect, in this review we discuss therapeutic approaches, focusing
particularly on recent research using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
This technique, besides representing an ideal tool to investigate visuo-spatial
attentive mechanisms in humans, has shown promising beneficial effects that
might have an impact on clinical practice.
