Informational content and unilateral neglect: A longitudinal investigation of five subjects with right hemisphere damage

The relationship between unilateral visual neglect and production of narrative discourse in five patients with right hemisphere damage (RHD) was examined longitudinally. Initially, all subjects demonstrated a left unilateral neglect on the Behavioural Inattention Test (Wilson et al. 1987a). During subsequent testing at 6–8 months and 12–16 months post-onset, subjects with a persistent unilateral neglect produced less concise discourse with reductions in the percentage of meaningful content units as compared to a group of control subjects. Subjects with a transient unilateral neglect produced informational content that was comparable to the normal subjects. Results support the notion that the presence and persistence of a unilateral visual neglect might assist in delineating more homogeneous groups of RHD subjects.