Acquired left handedness in a patient with chronic right motor neglect

Right motor neglect following left hemisphere damage, in right-handed patients, is very rare and can cause acquired left-handedness. Although right motor neglect has been mentioned in group studies (Laplane & Degos, 1983), there are only two detailed case reports in the literature (De La Sayette et al., 1992; Manabe et al. 1999). Nonetheless, in both reports, right motor neglect disappeared some months following lesion onset. Furthermore, no specific details were reported on the transformation of right-handedness into left-handedness, in these patients, following lesion onset. We reported on WY a very rare case of chronic right motor neglect still present eight years after lesion diagnosis (i.e., a brain tumor). WY was neither affected by motor disorders in his right upper limb nor by any form of right neglect, although there were some very mild signs of sensory extinction. Nonetheless, WY, who before lesion diagnosis was strongly right-handed, he has now become left-handed/ambidextrous for most of his everyday life activities. Strangely enough, he still declares that his “good and strong” hand remains the right one!