Dominance specific visual extinction associated with callosal disconnection

Abstract

Callosal disconnection signs are closely related to asymmetric hemispheric specialization of cognitive functions. Although extinction is more commonly associated with the right parietotemporal lesion, it may occur following lesions of the corpus callosum. After an infarction involving the left splenium, a 58-year-old right-handed man had no disconnection symptoms that had been reported earlier, but showed visual extinction with left or right visual hemifield dominant stimuli. Our results suggest that dominance specific visual extinction might be another disconnection sign associated with splenial lesion.

Keywords:

• Visual extinction
• Disconnection
• Hemispheric specialization
• Splenium
• Reciprocal inhibition

This study was supported by a grant of the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (A050079).