How do neglect patients process visual stimuli?

How does attention affect visual processing?
This central question within the field of visual perception is not entirely
hypothetical, since, unfortunately, attention deficits are rather common.
Hemineglect, the most well-known attention deficit, is the result of
brain-trauma, which causes the sufferer the inability to attend contralateral
to the site of the trauma. Behaviorally, this leads to actions that suggest
that the patient is blind to this part of his visual field. However, is this
just a behavioral deficit (the patient does not use the visual information that
is available to him), or is it a perceptual deficit (no visual information is
available to the patient)?

In this reseach we will map out how visual perception proceeds when attention
is impaired. We will study hemineglect patients. We will test how their visual
cortex responds, if a visual stimulus is presented to their neglected visual
field. Is there any reaction at all? And if there is a reaction, is it like the
neural reaction of healthy controls? Or is it morel like the neural reaction of
patients that are partially blind (hemianopsia-patients)?

First, we will decide through a simple behavioral test whether someone has
neglect, hemianopsia, or no visual affliction.
If someone belongs to one of these three categories, then he/she will
subsequently perform a very simple task (which only goal it is to ensure that
the participant keeps his/her eyes fixated on the center of the screen) while
he/she is placed in a fMRI-scanner.
During this task several visual stimuli will be presented in the periphery, and
the neural reaction to these stimuli will be recorded.

Hardly any burden, no risks.