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Abstract:
Abstract: The purpose of this work was to study attentional
mechanisms in the auditory modality in patients with neglect. These
patients exhibit right unilateral parietal damage (temporo-parietal
lesions), with difficulties to detect and answer stimuli situated
on their left (hemispace contralateral of the lesion). Because this
pathology is often related to attentional disorders, its study
could provide information about the role of the temporo-parietal
region in attentional mechanisms. Evoked potentials from 6 neglect
patients were recorded during the passive hearing of frequent and
deviant sounds lateralized in either the right or left ear. The
mismatch negativity component (MMN), reflecting the automatic
detection of deviant stimuli, were measured to assess the
implication of the lesioned area in attentional mechanisms. MMNs
for right deviant stimuli were significantly larger than MMNs for
left deviant stimuli. These data demonstrate a disturbance of
automatic attentional mechanisms in neglect, concerning the
contralateral hemispace of the lesions. This corroborates the
involvement of the right temporo-parietal region in automatic
attentional processes.
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