Abstract
1. We used eye movements as an index of visual search in 5 subjects with hemineglect due to CT/MR verified unilateral cerebral lesions. 2. Their behavior, recorded with magnetic search coil and electro-oculographic (EOG) techniques, was analyzed under different patterns of target excursion and display configuration. 3. The idea that hemineglect is caused by an inability to 'disengage' attention was tested using a saccade paradigm in which the appearance of a target was accompanied by the simultaneous extinction of its predecessor. Although this eliminated the object to disengage, performance did not improve. 4. By contrast, subjects were likely to orient into the neglected field when target movement was smooth and predictable. 5. Visual search, indexed by properties of fixation, was more conserved for face than scene displays; midline crossing, eye-eye transitions were spared. 6. The combined results suggest that attention and its disorders including hemineglect depend on multiplex (bottom-up and top-down) interactions among separate elements composing visual arrays.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 39-52 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Clinical Vision Sciences |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 1992 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology