UNILATERAL SPATIAL NEGLECT IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - A LINE BISECTION STUDY

Neuropsychological studies on Alzheimer's disease (AD) have rarely men tioned about unilateral spatial neglect in spite of widespread use of visuospatial tasks. We reported a 62-year-old woman with probable AD w ho showed moderate dementia with left unilateral spatial neglect and r elatively preserved language function. An extensive line bisection stu dy with either hand confirmed her having left unilateral spatial negle ct. Single photon emission computed tomography revealed relative hypop erfusion in the right temporal and parietal regions. AD patients with disproportionate right hemisphere dysfunction may exhibit left unilate ral spatial neglect if tested adequately in the stage of mild to moder ate dementia. We consider that application of the line bisection test to AD patients contributes to estimation of their right hemisphere fun ction. (C) Munksgaard 1996.