Hemispatial neglect, the inability to attend to the contralesional side of space, is the most common disturbance of visuospatial attention. Both hemispatial neglect and visuospatial attention are typically associated with extended cortical networks. Nevertheless, recent accounts challenge this so-called corticocentric view and postulate the participation of structures well beyond the telencephalic cortex, in particular advocating the role of the brainstem. However, to the best of our knowledge, hemispatial neglect after a brainstem lesion has not yet been described. We describe, for the first time in a human, the occurrence and remission of contralesional visual hemispatial neglect after a focal lesion in the right pons. Hemispatial neglect was assessed by means of video-oculography during free visual exploration, a very sensitive and established method, and its remission was followed up until 3 wk after stroke. Moreover, by means of a lesion-deficit approach complemented by imaging, we identify a pathophysiological mechanism involving the disconnection of cortico-ponto-cerebellar and/or tecto-cerebellar-tectal pathways passing through the pons. Our findings offer, for the first time in a human, causal, lesion-based support for recent seminal accounts postulating the role of infratentorial structures participating in the activity of cerebral cortical attentional networks mediating attentional processes.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Visuospatial attention and its most common disturbance, hemispatial neglect, are typically associated with extended cortical networks. However, recent accounts challenge this corticocentric view and advocate the role of infratentorial structures. We describe, for the first time in a human, the occurrence of contralesional visual hemispatial neglect after a focal lesion in the right pons. We provide causal, lesion-based evidence for a pathophysiological mechanism involving the disconnection of cortico-ponto-cerebellar and/or tecto-cerebellar-tectal pathways passing through the pons.
Keywords: diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); human; infratentorial contribution; pathophysiology; visuospatial attention.