Spatial memory and perception in stroke patients: the importance of order effects.

The performance of left and right CVA patients on two tasks, spatial matching and spatial recognition, was compared, using a design which also examined the effects of order of task presentation. All groups performed better on matching than on recognition trials, and the left CVA subjects obtained higher scores than right CVA subjects on both types of trial. A significant lesion X order interaction reflected the particularly poor performance of right CVA subjects who received the more difficult task (recognition) first. The clinical implications are discussed.