Language after dominant hemispherectomy

Abstract

Linguistic and related cognitive abilities were investigated two years after dominant left hemispherectomy for cerebral malignancy in a 12 year old female. Auditory comprehension of speech was superior to other modes of language abilities with expressive speech being the least developed. Findings suggested an isolation or non-communication between the systems for speaking and for writing and visual perception. It was concluded that language mechanisms in the right hemisphere were not just at a low level of development of the functions found in the dominant hemisphere but were modified as a result of interference by preexistent spatioperceptual systems.