Skip to main content
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1999 Aug;67(2):169–173. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.67.2.169

When the left brain is not right the right brain may be left: report of personal experience of occipital hemianopia

M Cole 1
PMCID: PMC1736502  PMID: 10406983

Abstract

OBJECTIVES—To make a personal report of a hemianopia due to an occipital infarct, sustained by a professor of neurology.
METHODS—Verbatim observation of neurological phenomena recorded during the acute illness.
RESULTS—Hemianopia, visual hallucinations, and non-occipital deficits without extraoccipital lesions on MRI, are described and discussed.
CONCLUSIONS—Hemianopia, due to an occipital infarct, without alexia, is not a disability which precludes a normal professional career. Neurorehabilitation has not been necessary.



Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (110.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barbur J. L., Watson J. D., Frackowiak R. S., Zeki S. Conscious visual perception without V1. Brain. 1993 Dec;116(Pt 6):1293–1302. doi: 10.1093/brain/116.6.1293. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barton J. J., Sharpe J. A. Motion direction discrimination in blind hemifields. Ann Neurol. 1997 Feb;41(2):255–264. doi: 10.1002/ana.410410217. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Boller F., Cole M., Kim Y., Mack J. L., Patawaran C. Optic ataxia: clinical-radiological correlations with the EMIscan. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1975 Oct;38(10):954–958. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.38.10.954. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brodal A. Self-observations and neuro-anatomical considerations after a stroke. Brain. 1973 Dec;96(4):675–694. doi: 10.1093/brain/96.4.675. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Brust J. C., Behrens M. M. "Release hallucinations" as the major symptom of posterior cerebral artery occlusion: a report of 2 cases. Ann Neurol. 1977 Nov;2(5):432–436. doi: 10.1002/ana.410020516. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cogan D. G. Visual hallucinations as release phenomena. Albrecht Von Graefes Arch Klin Exp Ophthalmol. 1973 Aug 23;188(2):139–150. doi: 10.1007/BF00407835. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Douglas R. J., Martin K. A., Nelson J. C. The neurobiology of primate vision. Baillieres Clin Neurol. 1993 Aug;2(2):191–225. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fisher C. M. Unusual vascular events in the territory of the posterior cerebral artery. Can J Neurol Sci. 1986 Feb;13(1):1–7. doi: 10.1017/s031716710003571x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gray L. G., Galetta S. L., Siegal T., Schatz N. J. The central visual field in homonymous hemianopia. Evidence for unilateral foveal representation. Arch Neurol. 1997 Mar;54(3):312–317. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1997.00550150068018. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Holmes G. DISTURBANCES OF VISION BY CEREBRAL LESIONS. Br J Ophthalmol. 1918 Jul;2(7):353–384. doi: 10.1136/bjo.2.7.353. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Horton J. C., Hoyt W. F. The representation of the visual field in human striate cortex. A revision of the classic Holmes map. Arch Ophthalmol. 1991 Jun;109(6):816–824. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1991.01080060080030. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kerkhoff G., Münssinger U., Meier E. K. Neurovisual rehabilitation in cerebral blindness. Arch Neurol. 1994 May;51(5):474–481. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1994.00540170050016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lance J. W. Simple formed hallucinations confined to the area of a specific visual field defect. Brain. 1976 Dec;99(4):719–734. doi: 10.1093/brain/99.4.719. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Manford M., Andermann F. Complex visual hallucinations. Clinical and neurobiological insights. Brain. 1998 Oct;121(Pt 10):1819–1840. doi: 10.1093/brain/121.10.1819. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Meienberg O., Zangemeister W. H., Rosenberg M., Hoyt W. F., Stark L. Saccadic eye movement strategies in patients with homonymous hemianopia. Ann Neurol. 1981 Jun;9(6):537–544. doi: 10.1002/ana.410090605. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rizzo M., Robin D. A. Bilateral effects of unilateral visual cortex lesions in human. Brain. 1996 Jun;119(Pt 3):951–963. doi: 10.1093/brain/119.3.951. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Rondot P., Odier F., Valade D. Postural disturbances due to homonymous hemianopic visual ataxia. Brain. 1992 Feb;115(Pt 1):179–188. doi: 10.1093/brain/115.1.179. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rossi P. W., Kheyfets S., Reding M. J. Fresnel prisms improve visual perception in stroke patients with homonymous hemianopia or unilateral visual neglect. Neurology. 1990 Oct;40(10):1597–1599. doi: 10.1212/wnl.40.10.1597. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. SPALDING J. M. K. Wounds of the visual pathway. Part II. The striate cortex. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1952 Aug;15(3):169–183. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.15.3.169. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Vaphiades M. S., Celesia G. G., Brigell M. G. Positive spontaneous visual phenomena limited to the hemianopic field in lesions of central visual pathways. Neurology. 1996 Aug;47(2):408–417. doi: 10.1212/wnl.47.2.408. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. WILLIAMS D., GASSEL M. M. Visual function in patients with homonymous hemianopia. I. The visual fields. Brain. 1962 Jun;85:175–250. doi: 10.1093/brain/85.2.175. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES