[My Story of Recovery from Brain Damage]

The author (hereafter referred to as I) is a speech-language-hearing pathologist and former professor of neuropsychology at Kobe University, who had been engaged in neuropsychological rehabilitation and research of conditions, such as aphasia and unilateral spatial neglect, for 37 years. In July 2009, I experienced right hemispheric infarction in Kobe City, and developed left-sided hemiparesis and various symptoms of cognitive dysfunctions, which was previously my field of expertise. As a neuropsychological rehabilitation expert, I focused my efforts on recovery and I have recovered the majority of my cognitive and neurologic functions. This is my story of recovery from stroke, in which functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of my arithmetic ability are described. I had been an excellent abacus user with brilliant achievements since elementary school. Premorbidly, I could use the right hemisphere of my brain to visualize a clear image of an abacus. However, my ability to visualize the abacus disappeared following the stroke. Two experiments were conducted involving calculation and digit memory tasks using fMRI. This may be the most important aspect of my story. My recovery process for other cognitive deficits is also delineated here.