RIGHT HEMISPACE PRESENTATION AND LEFT CUEING ON RAVENS COLORED PROGRESSIVE MATRICES AMONG RIGHT BRAIN-DAMAGED NEGLECT PATIENTS

Despite the substantial experimental literature that has accrued on fa ctors associated with a reduction in neglect, few empirical studies ha ve attempted to extrapolate these findings to clinical assessment and evaluate the efficacy of neglect-reducing strategies on patient perfor mance. The current study developed a modified version of the Raven's C oloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) by aligning the response alternati ves in a column, in the right hemispace. Three groups of patients (rig ht brain-damaged (RBD) with neglect, RBD without neglect, and orthopae dic controls) were administered abbreviated versions of the revised fo rmat, and performance was compared to the standard presentation format . The efficacy of left cues with the revised format was also investiga ted. Presence of neglect was assessed via the Schenkenberg Line Bisect ion Task and the Bells Test. Results showed a significant performance decrement among RBD neglect patients under all conditions. However, co ntrary to predictions, RBD neglect patients did not reveal significant ly better performance on the revised version as compared to the standa rd presentation format. No significant effects associated with left si de cueing were observed. The finding that no significant performance c hanges emerged as a function of stimulus modification and verbal promp ts suggests that, although these manipulations may be employed by clin icians to maximize patient performance, empirical support for the effi cacy of these procedures is lacking.