RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Signs of contralateral hemispatial inattention may be witnessed in children following perinatal brain infarcts (lesions), and evidence shows a pattern distinct from that in adults. This study is a longitudinal analysis of children with perinatal infarcts, with the goals of determining the pattern of inattention found in children with left or right hemisphere lesions and whether this pattern shows signs of change over time. METHODS: Twenty-one children with left hemishpere lesions, nine children with right hemisphere lesions, and 80 neurologically healthy control children were given the Infant and Toddler Neglect Task at two different time points. At time 1, median age was 1.54 years (interquartile range [IQR] = 0.92 to 2.29). At time 2, median age was 3.25 years (IQR = 2.23 to 5.00). A standardized scoring system was developed to compare the children's preference for the left versus right side of space. RESULTS: Children with left hemisphere lesions showed a significantly increased preference for the left side of space and a slightly decreased preference for the right side of space at time 1 and a significantly decreased preference for the right side of space at time 2 compared with controls. Children with right hemisphere lesions showed a significantly decreased preference for the left side of space and a significantly increased preference for the right side of space compared with controls at time 1 and a significantly decreased preference for the left side of space and a significantly increased preference for the right side of space compared with controls at time 2. There were no significant within-subjects effects across time. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that mechanisms of hemispatial inattention affect children early in the developmental process and that hemispatial inattention in children with both left and right hemisphere perinatal lesions likely persists at least through the early elementary school years.