We studied the severity and task-specific nature of neglect in relation to brain lesion size and locus in 23 right hemisphere stroke patients. We used five visuospatial tasks, including reading and writing. No single task identified hemispatial neglect in all patients. Drawing from memory was most sensitive, whereas writing was least sensitive. Neglect was not limited to parietal disease, but occurred following lesions in several cortical and subcortical locations. Severity of neglect correlated significantly with lesion locus (it was most severe with central lesions), but not with lesion size. We discuss observed patterns of neglect relative to a theory of hypoarousal and suggest the importance of neglect to prognosis for recovery from stroke. © 1989, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.