Semantic processing in the neglected visual field: Evidence from a lexical decision task

Abstract

The present study examined the possibility of a dissociation between visual information processing and conscious awareness of that processing in patients with unilateral visual neglect. Implicit processing of visual information was measured in the context of a semantic priming task (Experiment 1) in which patients made lexical decisions to centrally located targets following the presentation of lateralised picture primes. Like normal controls, patients with unilateral neglect showed equivalent priming when related picture primes were presented to the left or to the right visual field. This contrasts with the performance of a patient with a dense left hemianopia without neglect who did not show priming from the affected field.