From the Guidelines
There is no clear evidence that more people with right spatial neglect are left-handed. Spatial neglect is a neurological condition where patients fail to attend to stimuli on one side of space, typically occurring after brain damage to the opposite hemisphere. While right spatial neglect (neglect of the right side of space) results from left hemisphere damage, handedness does not appear to be a significant factor in its prevalence, as noted in the guidelines for adult stroke rehabilitation and recovery from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 1. The relationship between spatial neglect and handedness is complex and not well-established in the scientific literature. Spatial neglect is more commonly observed as left neglect (neglect of the left side) following right hemisphere damage, regardless of the patient's handedness. This asymmetry is thought to relate to the right hemisphere's specialized role in spatial attention rather than handedness. The neurological mechanisms underlying spatial neglect involve damage to attention networks in the brain, particularly in the parietal, frontal, and temporal regions, which function independently of the neural circuits determining handedness. If you're concerned about spatial neglect, focus on the location and extent of brain damage rather than handedness as the primary factor in determining the type and severity of neglect symptoms.
Some key points to consider in the management of spatial neglect include:
- The use of repeated top-down and bottom-up interventions such as prism adaptation, visual scanning training, optokinetic stimulation, virtual reality, limb activation, mental imagery, and neck vibration combined with prism adaptation to improve neglect symptoms, as recommended by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 1.
- The importance of patient education in addressing neglect, as noted in the management of adult stroke rehabilitation care guideline 1.
- The need for a multifaceted approach to addressing neglect, including patient education and various interventions, as discussed in the guidelines for adult stroke rehabilitation and recovery 1.
Overall, the current evidence suggests that handedness is not a significant factor in the prevalence of right spatial neglect, and that the location and extent of brain damage are more important in determining the type and severity of neglect symptoms.
From the Research
Spatial Neglect and Handedness
- There is no direct evidence in the provided studies to suggest that more people with right spatial neglect are lefthanded 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
- The studies focus on the treatment and symptoms of spatial neglect, as well as its causes and effects, but do not explore the relationship between spatial neglect and handedness.
- Study 3 mentions that the three patients described were right-handed, but this is not sufficient to draw conclusions about the relationship between spatial neglect and handedness.
- The other studies do not provide information on the handedness of the patients with spatial neglect, and therefore, it is not possible to determine if there is a correlation between the two.