Selective contralesional constructional hemi‐apraxia after unilateral brain damage: Which relationship with unilateral spatial neglect?

TL;DR

This paper describes a specific drawing disorder after brain damage that occurs without typical neglect symptoms.

Contribution

The study introduces selective contralesional constructional hemi-apraxia as a distinct clinical phenomenon.

Findings

Three patients with focal brain lesions showed a contralesional drawing disorder.

The disorder occurred without signs of unilateral neglect in standard tests.

The condition was observed in complex constructional tasks regardless of lesion hemisphere.

Abstract

We describe a peculiar contralesional drawing disorder in three patients affected by focal brain lesions, who did not show signs of unilateral neglect at standard clinical assessment, including the star cancellation test. This picture, that could be termed selective constructional hemi‐apraxia (CHA), could follow both right and left‐hemisphere lesions and is observed in complex constructional tasks. Future studies are warranted to explore the clinical and functional implications of CHA and its boundaries with unilateral neglect and constructional apraxia.

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