Introduction: Neglect primarily affects the right posterior parietal cortex, particularly the inferior parietal lobe, or the temporoparietal junction. Research indicates that patients with parietal lobe lesions, especially in the right hemisphere, exhibit impairments in sound localization.
Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on auditory attention in stroke patients with unilateral spatial visual neglect.
Materials and Methods: This experimental study included both an experimental group and a sham group. A total of 60 stroke patients with unilateral visuospatial neglect, who were referred to Tabsom Clinic in Tehran, were selected using purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: 30 patients in the experimental group receiving rTMS and 30 patients in the sham group. The intervention consisted of inhibitory rTMS administered at a frequency of 0.9 Hz for 15 sessions, three times per week, with each session lasting 15 minutes. In the sham group, the rTMS device was deactivated after 30 seconds; however, participants remained unaware of this and believed they were receiving active rTMS treatment.
Results: The findings indicated a significant difference between the two groups in auditory selective attention and auditory response control. Bonferroni's post-hoc test revealed a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of auditory selective attention and auditory response control in the rTMS group (P≤ 0.05).
Conclusion: The results demonstrated a significant improvement in selective auditory attention and auditory response control in the rTMS group. This finding suggests that rTMS may be an effective intervention for enhancing auditory attention in individuals with unilateral visuospatial neglect.