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Chapin BA, Pisanuwongrak K, Williamson JB, Heilman KM. Vertical pseudoneglect: Sensory-attentional versus action-intentional. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2022; 44:163-170. [PMID: 35819050 DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2022.2098934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Healthy persons demonstrate an upward bias on the vertical-line bisection test (vertical or "altitudinal" pseudoneglect). This bias might be sensory-attentional or action-intentional in origin. To test the action-intention hypothesis, we analyze whether the direction of action has an effect on altitudinal pseudoneglect. METHODS Twenty-four healthy right-handed adults performed vertical-line bisection on an apparatus designed to distinguish the effects of sensory-attention and action-intention. Depending on hand placement, participants estimated line midpoints with a marker that moved in the same (congruent) or opposite (incongruent) direction as their hand movements. Two binary factors - hand movement in the upward versus downward direction and congruent vs incongruent hand movements - produced four conditions. RESULTS There was upward deviation from the midline across all conditions. Bisections in the incongruent condition were higher than in the congruent condition. Bisections were also higher with upward hand movements than with downward hand movements. There was not a significant interaction between these factors. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that vertical pseudoneglect is primarily influenced by the allocation of allocentric attention, rather than action-intention. However, action-perceptual spatial incongruence increased this deviation. Perhaps the incongruent condition requires greater allocation of attention, but further exploration is needed. Additionally, these results suggest that visual attention follows the direction of motor action. Future studies of visual attention should consider the potential influence of this factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Chapin
- Division of Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - K Pisanuwongrak
- Division of Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Neurology, Synphaet Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.,Department of Neurology, Prasat Neurological Institute, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - John B Williamson
- Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, VAMC, North Florida/South, Georgia.,Center for OCD and Anxiety Related Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - K M Heilman
- Division of Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA
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Learmonth G, Papadatou-Pastou M. A Meta-Analysis of Line Bisection and Landmark Task Performance in Older Adults. Neuropsychol Rev 2021; 32:438-457. [PMID: 33890188 PMCID: PMC9090707 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-021-09505-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Young adults exhibit a small asymmetry of visuospatial attention that favours the left side of space relative to the right (pseudoneglect). However, it remains unclear whether this leftward bias is maintained, eliminated or shifted rightward in older age. Here we present two meta-analyses that aimed to identify whether adults aged ≥50 years old display a group-level spatial attention bias, as indexed by the line bisection and the landmark tasks. A total of 69 datasets from 65 studies, involving 1654 participants, were analysed. In the meta-analysis of the line bisection task (n = 63), no bias was identified for studies where the mean age was ≥50, but there was a clear leftward bias in a subset where all individual participants were aged ≥50. There was no moderating effect of the participant’s age or sex, line length, line position, nor the presence of left or right cues. There was a small publication bias in favour of reporting rightward biases. Of note, biases were slightly more leftward in studies where participants had been recruited as part of a stand-alone older group, compared to studies where participants were recruited as controls for a clinical study. Similarly, no spatial bias was observed in the meta-analysis of the landmark task, although the number of studies included was small (n = 6). Overall, these results indicate that over 50s maintain a group-level leftward bias on the line bisection task, but more studies are needed to determine whether this bias can be modulated by stimulus- or state-dependent factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Learmonth
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland.
| | - Marietta Papadatou-Pastou
- School of Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.,Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
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