Hemispatial visual inattention masquerading as hemianopia

Abstract

The defect occurring when a patient fails to report a visual stimulus presented in a visual half-field may be attributed to hemianopia (deafferentation) caused by a geniculocalcarine lesion. However, failure to report a stimulus presented in a visual field may also be caused by hemispatial visual inattention. We report a patient with right thalamic and temporo-occipital lesions who had a left visual field defect when her eyes were directed either straight ahead (midsagittal plane) or toward left hemispace. However, this visual field defect abated when her eyes were directed to right hemispace, suggesting that the patient had hemispatial visual inattention rather than hemianopia.