THE INFLUENCE OF STIMULUS PROPERTIES ON VISUAL NEGLECT

Twenty five patients with right cerebral hemisphere damage and neglect participated in a series of bisection experiments. As expected, long lines were bisected to the right of true mid-point. By contrast, large circles and long white paper strips were bisected accurately, or with leftward errors. Small objects were less sensitive to stimulus properties: short lines and paper strips, and small circles, were bisected to the left of true midpoint, and these leftward errors were equally common as rightward errors with long lines. When asked to draw a perpendicular line of the same length as the presented horizontal line, patients overestimated the length of short lines but under-estimated that of long lines. Presenting lines in near and far extrapersonal space selectively affected bisection of short lines. The results suggest that two opposing, independent mechanisms determine bisection performance in left neglect.