ARE THERE SEX-DIFFERENCES IN HEMISPATIAL VISUAL NEGLECT AFTER UNILATERAL STROKE

This study examined the hypothesis of greater functional asymmetry in the male compared with the female brain for contralesional spatial neg lect. One hundred thirty-eight consecutive patients with computed tomo graphy verified unilateral first strokes were examined within two mont hs of onset. An aggregate measure of neglect was based on four clinica l tasks: copying/drawing, line bisection, line cancellation, and figur e cancellation. The incidence and severity of neglect were significant ly greater after right- than left-hemisphere lesions and equal in men and women. Sex differences were not found between anterior and posteri or groups after left- or right- hemisphere strokes. When neglect was b ased on different scores between ipsilateral versus contralesional res ponse times on a Visual Search Task, the incidence was higher in femal es than males with right-hemisphere lesions.