Spatial attention and its disorders

Sumio Ishiai

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine

Spatial attention is the cognitive function that allows living individuals to orient to and focus consciousness on the relevant one among the objects around them and also to shift flexibly to another object.　The neural mechanism of spatial attention was explored and disclosed mainly from the clinical studies on unilateral spatial neglect that occurs frequently after right-hemisphere stroke.　The neural network of spatial attention is lateralized to the right hemisphere, and its dysfunction results in “contralesional” or “left” neglect of extrapersonal space.　Simultanagnosia is a unique visuospatial condition after bilateral dorsal parietooccipital lesions that deprive both hemisphere’s network of spatial attention of visual information.　Patients with simultanagnosia perceive only a single object among multiple objects when presented simultaneously.　Disorders of spatial attention should be carefully evaluated to treat and care patients with dementia especially due to Alzheimer’s disease pathology.

Address correspondence to Dr. Sumio Ishiai, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine （S1W16 Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8543, Japan）