Right Hemisphere Language Dominance in a Right-Handed Patient with Late-Onset Seizures

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Right hemisphere language dominance is rare in right-handed individuals and usually the result of language transfer associated with early left hemisphere pathology. We studied a 33-year-old right-handed man, with a normal MRI scan, who developed left frontal lobe seizures at age 15 years. Language lateralization testing by intracarotid amobarbital injection and dichotic listening showed the patient to be strongly right hemisphere language dominant. The clinical features of this patient do not fit the profile of pathology-induced language transfer, but instead suggest that he was right hemisphere language dominant before developing seizures. This case underscores the importance of language lateralization testing in patients who are candidates for seizure surgery, even if they are strongly right-handed and have late-onset seizures, features usually associated with left hemisphere language dominance. One implication is that the incidence of right hemisphere language dominance in the right-handed population may be underestimated.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)281-286
Number of pages6
JournalEpilepsy and Behavior
Volume1
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2000

Keywords

  • Right hemisphere language; language lateralization; late-onset seizures; epilepsy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Right Hemisphere Language Dominance in a Right-Handed Patient with Late-Onset Seizures'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this