PhD Defence Willemijn Berthine Mirjam Middag van Spanje

Keywords: Neglect patients, non-invasive brain stimulation, attention, randomized controlled trial 
 

"Bringing neglected space to light: Understanding and treating visuospatial attention deficits with non-invasive brain stimulation"

This thesis investigated how brain stimulation can support recovery in people who suffer from visuospatial neglect after a stroke, a condition where individuals fail to notice things on one side of space, often the left. The research focused on a gentle, non-invasive form of brain stimulation applied during attention training. Stroke survivors who received this stimulation showed longer-lasting improvements in their ability to scan their environment and detect visual information than those who only received training without stimulation. These benefits were observed even months after the treatment ended, suggesting that the brain stimulation helped strengthen the effects of training. The findings offer new hope for improving the quality of life in stroke survivors, particularly those with attention problems. This work contributes to the development of affordable, brain-based therapies that can be used alongside traditional rehabilitation to better support recovery and independence in daily life.

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