Preserved Cognition After Right Hemispherectomy
Citation Manager Formats
Make Comment
See Comments

Abstract
There is controversy regarding the unique contributions of the right and left hemispheres for human cognition. The right hemisphere is thought to play an important role in “nonverbal” cognitive abilities, such as visuospatial processing.1 However, the necessity of the right hemisphere for other aspects of cognition has been challenged by the relative preservation of intellectual functioning following right hemispherectomy among children and, more rarely, adults with epilepsy due to congenital or early-onset right hemisphere pathology.2 3 The preservation of normal or near-normal cognition in these remarkable cases is often attributed to the capacity of the left hemisphere for early functional reorganization during development to compensate for cognitive functions that would have involved the right hemisphere in the absence of pathology. Cases of hemispherectomy in adults with normal development are exceptionally rare but could further inform our understanding of the necessity of the right hemisphere for various aspects of cognition.
- Received July 22, 2020.
- Accepted September 29, 2020.
- © 2020 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
For assistance, please contact:
AAN Members (800) 879-1960 or (612) 928-6000 (International)
Non-AAN Member subscribers (800) 638-3030 or (301) 223-2300 option 3, select 1 (international)
Sign Up
Information on how to subscribe to Neurology and Neurology: Clinical Practice can be found here
Purchase
Individual access to articles is available through the Add to Cart option on the article page. Access for 1 day (from the computer you are currently using) is US$ 39.00. Pay-per-view content is for the use of the payee only, and content may not be further distributed by print or electronic means. The payee may view, download, and/or print the article for his/her personal, scholarly, research, and educational use. Distributing copies (electronic or otherwise) of the article is not allowed.
The Nerve!: Rapid online correspondence
NOTE: All contributors' disclosures must be entered and current in our database before comments can be posted. Enter and update disclosures at http://submit.cp.neurology.org. Exception: replies to comments concerning an article you originally authored do not require updated disclosures.
- Stay timely. Submit only on articles published within the last 8 weeks.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- 200 words maximum.
- 5 references maximum. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- 5 authors maximum. Exception: replies can include all original authors of the article.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Related Articles
- No related articles found.