Language after hemispherectomy in childhood: contributions from memory and intelligence
Frédérique Liégeois1, J Helen Cross, Charles Polkey
1Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH UK. f.liegeois@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Neuropsychologia
|July 29, 2008
Summary
Children undergoing hemispherectomy (brain hemisphere removal) can recover basic language skills. Complex language, like grammar, depends on short-term memory, while vocabulary relies on verbal intelligence. Early brain damage impacts language development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Linguistics
Background:
- Hemispherectomy is a surgical treatment for intractable childhood epilepsy.
- While gross language functions often recover post-surgery, complex linguistic abilities remain debated.
- Understanding the impact of hemispherectomy on higher-order language processing is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate expressive and receptive language functions in children after hemispherectomy.
- To identify factors predicting language performance in this patient group.
- To explore the role of hemispherectomy on syntactic processing and vocabulary.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 30 patients (17 left, 13 right hemispherectomy).
- Assessment of receptive vocabulary, grammar, instruction comprehension, and semantic association.
- Evaluation of verbal/nonverbal intelligence, short-term verbal memory, and working memory.
Main Results:
- Two language components emerged: receptive vocabulary and a composite of other language measures.
- Short-term verbal memory best predicted the composite language score; verbal intelligence also contributed.
- Verbal intelligence was the sole predictor of receptive vocabulary.
Conclusions:
- The lone left or right hemisphere shows similar potential for receptive vocabulary development in childhood.
- Congenital or left-hemisphere postnatal damage leads to significant language deficits.
- These deficits correlate with impaired short-term verbal memory and, to a lesser extent, verbal intelligence.
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