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Parietal lobe signs

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The parietal lobe is the principal sensory area of the cerebral cortex. The manifestations of damage may be specific to the dominant or non-dominant hemisphere, or it may be general:

Disease of either dominant or non-dominant hemisphere post-central gyral sensory cortex produces contralateral disturbance of cortical sensation:

  • impairment of postural sensation and sensation of passive movement
  • impairment of tactile sensation - accurate localisation of light touch, two point discrimination
  • agraphism, astereognosis
  • sensory and visual inattention

Dominant hemisphere lesions:

  • involving Wernicke's speech area - receptive dysphasia
  • Gerstmann's syndrome
  • dyslexia

Non-dominant lesions:

  • neglect of contralateral limb, even if densely hemiplegic
  • denial of weakness - anosognosia
  • spatial neglect
  • disappreciation of three dimensional sense - dressing dyspraxia, constructional dyspraxia
  • geographical agnosia - e.g. unable to find defined places

Involving the optic radiation deep in the parietal lobe:

  • lower homonymous quadrantanopia

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