Background

Bálint’s syndrome is a rare condition in which function in both the left and the right posterior parietal lobes has been compromised. Patients with this condition have a limited ability to localize objects in space. This results in difficulty grasping for objects, probably its most salient symptom. In addition, patients with Bálint’s syndrome seldom move their eyes. As a consequence of this deficit, they have a condition called simultagnosia. Simultagnosia is a deficit in perceiving more than one object at a time. Thus, they focus on the one object that is presented directly in front of them and ignore other stimuli. This makes them similar to patients with unilateral neglect, except that patients with Bálint’s syndrome ignore both the left and the right visual world.

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