Ahead of Print: Electrostimulation Mapping of Spatial Neglect

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BACKGROUND: Cortical and subcortical electrostimulation mapping during awake brain surgery for tumor removal is usually used in order to minimize deficits.

OBJECTIVE: Electrostimulation was used to study neuronal substrates involved in spatial awareness in humans.

METHODS: Spatial neglect was studied using a line bisection task in combination with electrostimulation mapping of the right hemisphere in 50 cases. Stimulation sites were identified using Talairach’s coordinates. The behavioral effects induced by stimulation, especially eye movements and deviations from the median, were quantified and compared to pre-operative data and to a control group.