Orienting to Extinguished Signals in Hemispatial Neglect

Abstract

This study tested for spatial orienting effects, without awareness, to signals presented in the neglected hemifield of 2 hemispatialneglect patients. The experiment adapted a spatial precuing paradigm for measuring the effects of visual attention. Contralesional orienting hastened subsequent target detection at the location of an extinguished precue. These findings validate a claim that orienting can occur independently of overt detection and indicate that location information is registered in the neglected field.