Language and verbal memory after right hemispheric stroke: a clinical-CT scan study

The performances on language and verbal memory tests of 26 right-hemisphere damaged subjects (RHD) have been compared with normal controls and 11 non-aphasic left-hemisphere damaged subjects. While phonological and syntactic performance was unimpaired, a small subgroup of RHD patients, with CT scan evidence of subcortical lesion, was mildly impaired in naming tasks. The performance of RHD patients on free recall was characterized by a reduced recency effect. The implications of these findings for theories about the participation of the right hemisphere in linguistic functions are discussed.