Linguistic and non-linguistic abilities in a patient with early left hemispherectomy

A patient who underwent early removal of the left hemisphere because of Sturge-Weber syndrome was submitted to detailed linguistic and visuospatial batteries. The performances were compared to performances of subjects matched for age, education and IQ, but without focal cerebral lesions. Language was mildly impaired but to the same extent as in IQ controls. On the contrary, visuospatial abilities were clearly worse than in IQ controls, and the most preserved visuospatial abilities seemed to be the less sophisticated ones. Non literal comprehension of language, a function generally attributed to the right hemisphere, was intact. This same pattern, that is, preservation of language and impairment of visuospatial abilities, also seems to occur in subjects who have undergone surgical removal of the right hemisphere; in other words, the cognitive pattern seems the same regardless of which hemisphere is removed. These observations suggest that no matter which hemisphere is removed, functional reorganisation follows a hierarchical criterion which privileges the linguistic function, and the visuospatial functions most essential for independent survival.

[1]  C. Papagno,et al.  La comprensione non letterale del linguaggio: taratura di un test di comprensione di metafore e di espressioni idiomatiche , 1995 .

[2]  D. Bishop.  Can the Right Hemisphere Mediate Language as Well as the Left? A Critical Review of Recent Research , 1988 .

[3]  J. Mcfie.  THE EFFECTS OF HEMISPHERECTOMY ON INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING IN CASES OF INFANTILE HEMIPLEGIA , 1961, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[4]  E. Lenneberg.  Biological Foundations of Language , 1967 .

[5]  G Gainotti,et al.  Mechanisms of unilateral spatial neglect in relation to laterality of cerebral lesions. , 1986, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[6]  E. Renzi,et al.  Normative Data and Screening Power of a Shortened Version of the Token Test , 1978, Cortex.

[7]  J. Valk,et al.  Classification of congenital abnormalities of the CNS. , 1988, AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology.

[8]  J. Ogden,et al.  Language and memory functions after long recovery periods in left-hemispherectomized subjects , 1988, Neuropsychologia.

[9]  P. S. Day,et al.  Perceptual, cognitive, and linguistic development after early hemispherectomy: Two case studies , 1979, Brain and Language.

[10]  M. Schwartz,et al.  The word order problem in agrammatism I. Comprehension , 1980, Brain and Language.

[11]  I. James-Roberts.  A reinterpretation of hemispherectomy data without functional plasticity of the brain I. Intellectual function , 1981, Brain and Language.

[12]  J. Volpe.  Neurology of the Newborn , 1959, Major problems in clinical pediatrics.

[13]  M. Dennis,et al.  Comprehension of syntax in infantile hemiplegics after cerebral hemidecortication: Left-hemisphere superiority , 1975, Brain and Language.

[14]  Howard Gardner,et al.  Pragmatic Aspects of Communication in Brain-Damaged Patients**We wish to acknowledge the support of the National Institute of Neurological and Communication Disorders and Stroke (M 11408), the Veterans Administration and Harvard Project Zero. , 1983 .

[15]  R. Sperry,et al.  Expressive language in the surgically separated minor hemisphere. , 1971, Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior.

[16]  M. Silveri,et al.  Noun-verb dissociations in brain-damaged patients: Further evidence , 1997 .

[17]  D. Bishop,et al.  Linguistic Impairment after Left Hemidecortication for Infantile Hemiplegia? A Reappraisal , 1983, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. A, Human experimental psychology.

[18]  M. Mishkin,et al.  Onset of speech after left hemispherectomy in a nine-year-old boy. , 1997, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[19]  A. Benton,et al.  Visuospatial judgment. A clinical test. , 1978, Archives of neurology.

[20]  Howard Gardner,et al.  Appreciation of metaphoric alternative word meanings by left and right brain-damaged patients , 1990, Neuropsychologia.

[21]  M. Dennis,et al.  Selective impairments of visuo-spatial abilities in infantile hemiplegics after right cerebral hemidecortication. , 1974, Neuropsychologia.

[22]  M. Dennis,et al.  Language acquisition following hemidecortication: Linguistic superiority of the left over the right hemisphere , 1976, Brain and Language.

[23]  F. Vargha-Khadem,et al.  A review of cognitive outcome after hemidecortication in humans. , 1992, Advances in experimental medicine and biology.

[24]  L. Basser.  Hemiplegia of early onset and the faculty of speech with special reference to the effects of hemispherectomy. , 1962, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[25]  D. Lancker,et al.  Comprehension of familiar phrases by left- but not by right-hemisphere damaged patients , 1987, Brain and Language.

[26]  J. Ogden,et al.  Visuospatial and other “right-hemispheric” functions after long recovery periods in left-hemispherectomized subjects , 1989, Neuropsychologia.

[27]  Maureen Dennis,et al.  Capacity and strategy for syntactic comprehension after left or right hemidecortication , 1980, Brain and Language.