Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Abstract: Purpose: Spatial neglect is common after right-hemisphere stroke and
has proven resilient to a number of therapeutic interventions. Both active and
experimenter-induced passive movements of the left limb in left hemispace have
been shown to ameliorate neglect in subsets of patients by improving
performance on tasks requiring attention to the left side of space. However,
the high incidence of contralesional hemiparesis and poor motor recovery in
neglect makes active limb movement therapies applicable to only a small subset
of patients. The purpose of our studies was to investigate the effects of
passive movements of the left hand by functional electrical stimulation (FES),
a common and portable motor rehabilitation technique, on performance in a
visual scanning task. Methods: The effect of FES-induced passive movement on target
detection in a visual scanning task was compared to no movement and active
movement conditions and also investigated in scanning tasks in both near and
far space. Results: Passive limb movement effects in neglect were variable
across and within studies, reference spaces, and individuals, with a subset of
positive responders differing from non-responders in regard to constructional
deficits and lesion location. Conclusions: The potential viability of FES as a therapy for neglect
deserves further investigation and directions for future research in this area
are discussed.
