Unilateral neglect

I had trouble understanding unilateral neglect from this week's chapter. I decided to look up some more information. Damage to the right side of the brain is what is responsible for unilateral neglec, usually from a stroke. It has also been called spatial neglect. The clip I provided this week is an elderly woman who had damage to her parietal cortex and she is unable to attend to the left side of anything. She is asked to draw a flower from her memory and she still neglects the left side. I found it very interesting because it isn't just what she sees but the attention is even taken away from her memory. The implication is memory is also widely affected by this condition.

Imagine you cannot give attention to the left side of your world or any view of object. What will surprise you is you will have trouble seeing your world in three dimensions. These individuals affectd by this condition are often bumping into things on their left side (walls or people). I imagine that can be very disturbing, but are they disturbed? It appears these individuals are not aware of the missing left side until it is pointed out. Sometimes even then, they cannot respond or recognize the left side. Mainly they are not able to shift attention to the left side of things. These individuals need care givers to help them with their daily activities. below are some drawings made by individuals with unilateral visual neglect. Remeber, the individuals believe they have drawn the pictures correctly.