Unilateral spatial neglect and recovery from hemiplegia: a follow-up study.

A follow-up study was undertaken in order to investigate the outcome of recovery from right and left hemiplegia on simple motor function and activities of daily living. The role of concomitant neurophysiological deficits was also investigated. The main results indicate that after six months from onset, left hemiplegics show a lesser degree of improvement in independence and social adjustment coupled with a tendency to a poorer recovery of motor function than the corresponding group of right hemiplegics. Unilateral spatial neglect, which is more frequent and severe in the group of left hemiplegics, seems to be crucial in hampering their performance.