Attention key in stroke recovery
The researchers believe that attention may have an important impact on successful recovery after a stroke. Image: mphillips007/iStockphoto People with a curious condition that causes them to apply make-up on only one side of their face, or ignore food on half of their plate, are playing a new role in understanding stroke recovery.Researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) at The University of Queensland have found the condition, a subset of the stroke called ‘unilateral spatial neglect', tend to have the worst recovery outcomes in regaining lost functioning in their bodies, leading them to believe attention may have an important impact on recovering successfully.Unilateral spatial neglect is typically caused by strokes on the right hand side of the brain and manifests in patients ignoring the left side of their body.People with the condition may ignore food on the left hand side of their plate or, if asked to draw a clock, squash...