Spatial reference frames and hierarchical object representations:
Evidence from drawing in hemispatial neglect
David C. Plaut and Marlene Behrmann
Department of Psychology
Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract
When drawing, patients with right parietal lesions typically omit details on
the left side of figures. We present empirical evidence for the sensitivity of
such drawing to object orientation and structure, and provide a computational
account in terms of the interaction among multiple reference frames and
hierarchical object representations. Neglect is successfully modeled as a
monotonic drop-off in attention from right to left that affects performance in
both viewer-centered and (hierarchically defined) object-centered reference
frames.