Abstract
We investigated the language capabilities of the isolated right hemisphere in 6 children (age, 7-14 years) after left hemidecorticectomy for treatment of Rasmussen's syndrome. Patients were right-handed before surgery and had at least 5 years of normal language development before the onset of seizures. Language testing included speech sound (phoneme) discrimination, single word and phrasal comprehension, repetition, and naming. Within 4 to 16 days after surgery, patients showed improved phoneme discrimination compared with their performance shortly before surgery. Other language functions remained severely impaired until at least 6 months after surgery. By 1 year after surgery, receptive functions were comparable with, or surpassed, patient presurgery performance. Although word repetition was intact by 1 year after surgery, naming remained impaired, and patient speech was limited largely to production of single words. These results suggest that the right hemisphere is innately capable of supporting multiple aspects of phoneme processing. Recovery of higher level receptive and, to a lesser extent, expressive language functions is attributed to plasticity of the right hemisphere, which appears to persist beyond the proposed critical period for language acquisition and lateralization.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 579-586 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Annals of Neurology |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
Cite this
Language recovery after left hemispherectomy in children with late-onset seizures. / Boatman, Dana; Freeman, John; Vining, Eileen; Pulsifer, Margaret; Miglioretti, Diana L; Minahan, Robert; Carson, Benjamin; Brandt, Jason; McKhann, Guy.
In: Annals of Neurology, Vol. 46, No. 4, 1999, p. 579-586.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Language recovery after left hemispherectomy in children with late-onset seizures
AU - Boatman, Dana
AU - Freeman, John
AU - Vining, Eileen
AU - Pulsifer, Margaret
AU - Miglioretti, Diana L
AU - Minahan, Robert
AU - Carson, Benjamin
AU - Brandt, Jason
AU - McKhann, Guy
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - We investigated the language capabilities of the isolated right hemisphere in 6 children (age, 7-14 years) after left hemidecorticectomy for treatment of Rasmussen's syndrome. Patients were right-handed before surgery and had at least 5 years of normal language development before the onset of seizures. Language testing included speech sound (phoneme) discrimination, single word and phrasal comprehension, repetition, and naming. Within 4 to 16 days after surgery, patients showed improved phoneme discrimination compared with their performance shortly before surgery. Other language functions remained severely impaired until at least 6 months after surgery. By 1 year after surgery, receptive functions were comparable with, or surpassed, patient presurgery performance. Although word repetition was intact by 1 year after surgery, naming remained impaired, and patient speech was limited largely to production of single words. These results suggest that the right hemisphere is innately capable of supporting multiple aspects of phoneme processing. Recovery of higher level receptive and, to a lesser extent, expressive language functions is attributed to plasticity of the right hemisphere, which appears to persist beyond the proposed critical period for language acquisition and lateralization.
AB - We investigated the language capabilities of the isolated right hemisphere in 6 children (age, 7-14 years) after left hemidecorticectomy for treatment of Rasmussen's syndrome. Patients were right-handed before surgery and had at least 5 years of normal language development before the onset of seizures. Language testing included speech sound (phoneme) discrimination, single word and phrasal comprehension, repetition, and naming. Within 4 to 16 days after surgery, patients showed improved phoneme discrimination compared with their performance shortly before surgery. Other language functions remained severely impaired until at least 6 months after surgery. By 1 year after surgery, receptive functions were comparable with, or surpassed, patient presurgery performance. Although word repetition was intact by 1 year after surgery, naming remained impaired, and patient speech was limited largely to production of single words. These results suggest that the right hemisphere is innately capable of supporting multiple aspects of phoneme processing. Recovery of higher level receptive and, to a lesser extent, expressive language functions is attributed to plasticity of the right hemisphere, which appears to persist beyond the proposed critical period for language acquisition and lateralization.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032878583&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0032878583&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/1531-8249(199910)46:4<579::AID-ANA5>3.0.CO;2-K
DO - 10.1002/1531-8249(199910)46:4<579::AID-ANA5>3.0.CO;2-K
M3 - Article
C2 - 10514094
AN - SCOPUS:0032878583
VL - 46
SP - 579
EP - 586
JO - Annals of Neurology
JF - Annals of Neurology
SN - 0364-5134
IS - 4
ER -