Reversed hemispheric organization in a left-hander

Authors:

  • Dean C. Delis

  • Robert T. Knight

  • Gregory V. Simpson

Date: 1983

PubMed: 6843812

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Abstract:

For left-handers, cognitive functions are organized in the brain similarly to right-handers or they are more diffusely represented. In this study, we report a left-handed patient with a focal right temporal-parietal lesion who evidenced a lasting Wernicke's aphasia and visual-spatial functioning typical of a right-hander with left-hemisphere in involvement. The patient's performance on other tasks (e.g. praxis, singing) as well as observed behavioral changes also resembled those of a right-hander with left-hemisphere compromise. This case suggests that it is possible for cognitive functions to be inversely represented in the two hemispheres.