[The neutral and affective verbal fluency in people with right, left or both hemisphere brain pathology]

The comparison of neutral and affective fluency realisation in patients with right, left or both hemisphere brain damage and the control group, was the aim of our study. 31 healthy persona and 31 persons with vascular brain damage participated. (the left hemisphere (N = 11), right (N = 14) or both hemispheres (N = 6)).

4 fluency tasks were used: animals, "k" letter (the neutral tasks), pleasant and unpleasant (the affective tasks). The aim of our research was the assessment of the number of correct answers, number of mistakes, clusters as well as the switches between compliant and discordant with the type of the task. The level of depression as well as the level of linguistic abilities were considered in analyses.

The group of people with the CNS pathology generated less words and less clusters of both types (compliant and discordant with type of the task) in comparison to healthy people. The character of CNS pathology did not differ the results, however we noted the tendencies to diverse realisation of affective fluency. In the neutral tasks persons generated more words than affective tasks independently of their clinical state, and they applied strategies compliant with the type of the task.

The applying of the affective fluency can enrich the workshop of the clinical diagnosis. Tasks of this type engage other psychological and neuronal mechanisms than the traditional neutral fluency.