ИСТИНА

Unilateral spatial neglect could affect up to 2/3 of patients survived right hemisphere stroke. These patients cannot detect or focus their attention on stimuli presented on the left side of their visual field. This pilot study aimed to record eye movements of these patients and to compare them with computerized form of Apple Test used by neuropsychologists for neglect detection. Three patients with hemorrhagic right-hemisphere stroke in the subacute phase and possible contralateral neglect (according to the occupational therapist) were examined. Eye movements were recorded by eye tracker Arrington 60 Hz. Different oculomotor paradigms were performed: gaze stability test, visually guided saccades, tracking lines, searching and counting objects, reading. All patients had absence of abnormal eye movement or vision. For comparison with the results of the oculomotor study, the computerized form of pencil-and-paper Apple Test was used. The patients demonstrated the following neglect oculomotor symptoms: ignoring the left 2/3 of the visual field when scanning the image, slow generation of saccades in the left half-field, while the saccades were hypometric and separated by long fixations. All patients missed from 1 to 4 stimuli on the left side when counting 10 objects. When reading, they ignored from a few words to half a line on the left side, losing the meaning of the text. Comparing with Apple Test has also shown the presence of left hemispatial neglect in these patients.