Lateralizing value of the Wada memory test in non-Western patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

The Wada memory test measures a psychological construct (i.e. memory), which is widely acknowledged to be under the influence of a vast array of moderating variables including culture. Thus, the lateralizing value of the Wada memory test for epileptogenic foci may potentially differ for Western versus non-Western patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In the present study, the lateralizing value of the Wada memory test was investigated in 17 Korean patients with medically intractable TLE who were post-operatively seizure-free. The Wada memory stimuli were composed of eight drawings of common objects, animals, and fruits. A clinical criterion of at least 2 points difference between left and right injections correctly classified 14 patients (82%) into left and right TLE groups, with only one patient (6%) falsely classified. This diagnostic accuracy is at least as high as that reported for Western TLE patients. These results indicate that whatever culture-specific factors Korean TLE patients may bring to the Wada memory test, they do not significantly reduce the lateralizing value of the test.