Cerebral dominance: Temporary disruption of verbal memory by unilateral electroconvulsive shock treatment.

Abstract

Verbal recall of patients receiving electroshock treatment (EST) to parieto-temporal region of left cerebral hemisphere was retarded more than recall of patients receiving EST to parieto-temporal region of right cerebral hemisphere and patients receiving bilateral EST to frontal areas. This finding supports notion that left parietal and left temporal lobes are more intimately associated with verbal memory functions that are frontal lobes or right parietal and right temporal lobes. Later-alized effects were evident despite (bilateral) generalization of unilaterally induced convulsions. Recall of right-sighting- right-handed patients was swifter than non-right-sighting-right-handed patients when both received EST to right hemisphere, extending previous indication that contralateral cerebral aspect of sighting dominance is involved in verbal processes.