An analysis of verbal fluency task performance profiles in patients with vascular brain pathology

Aim: Considering the data on the important role of verbal fluency tasks in neuropsychological diagnosis and the models of hemispherically specialised modulation of processes essential for different types of verbal fluency, we made an attempt to identify differences in correct and incorrect performance of 5 verbal fluency tasks between patients with vascular cerebral pathology, including hypertension, and healthy individuals. We also analysed task performance profiles within the groups. Materials and methods: The study included healthy volunteers (n = 36), hypertensive individuals (n = 33), and patients after left (n = 15) or right hemisphere stroke (n = 30) – 114 subjects in total. We used the Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (FAST) to exclude patients with significant language difficulties/aphasia. We used 5 verbal fluency tasks: semantic (Animals), phonemic (“k”), verb fluency and two emotional tasks: Joy and Fear. We used general linear models for repeated measures for the analysis of correctly and incorrectly performed tasks. Results: The profiles of correct responses for all 5 tasks were similar in all groups, with quantitative intergroup differences. The highest number of correct responses appeared in the semantic, phonemic and verb fluency tasks, whereas the lowest number in the emotional tasks. Hypertensive individuals scored statistically insignificantly lower than healthy individuals, whereas patients after right/left hemisphere stroke scored significantly lower compared to both these groups. Despite a large number of errors, healthy individuals had the highest scores. Patients after right hemisphere stroke showed little differentiation in the number of correct responses in subsequent tasks. There were no intergroup differences in the level of performance of emotional tasks with different valences (positive and negative). Healthy and hypertensive individuals were characterised by a distinct heterogeneity of correct and incorrect responses in various tasks. Patients with brain pathology, regardless of its lateralisation, performed these tasks at a similar level, with left hemisphere damage resulting in the highest number of errors, mainly in semantic and phonemic tasks, and with right hemisphere pathology associated with errors in all types of tasks. The difficulties in patients with left hemisphere damage may result from weaker phonological and lexical processes, including access to semantic features of a word, while the low scores of patients with right hemisphere damage may be a consequence of impaired attention and executive processes. Conclusions: Patients with vascular pathology of the brain hemispheres achieved significantly lower scores in all types of fluency, while hypertensive individuals scored insignificantly lower than healthy subjects. This means that the method can be useful in differentiating between healthy individuals and patients with central nervous system damage, as well as those at risk. Future research should focus on a detailed analysis of the types of errors made by patients with hemispheric damage in various types of verbal fluency tasks. An analysis of the location of the pathology in the anterior-posterior dimension of each hemisphere could reveal specific features of verbal fluency.

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Are “Presences” Preferentially Felt along the Left Side of One's Body?

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1994.79.3.1200 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 79 (3) ◽

pp. 1200-1202 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Peter Brugger

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Sense Of Self ◽

Hemispheric Specialization ◽

The Body ◽

The Self ◽

Brain Pathology ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Physical Presence ◽

The Right

The “feeling of a presence” is the distinct awareness of the physical presence of somebody in the near extracorporeal space. Although fairly frequently confined to one side of the body, systematic documentation of the lateralization of the phenomenon has not yet been attempted. A brief tabular summary of 11 cases of the unilateral feeling of a presence in association with focal brain pathology (seven left-hemisphere lesions, four right-hemisphere lesions) shows lateralization to the left in five, to the right in six cases. The data, together with the scattered reports of unilaterally felt presences in patients with nonfocal brain pathology and in healthy individuals, do not support claims that the left hemispace is the preferred location. Any models of hemispheric specialization in the sense of self which are derived from observations of felt presences remain speculative. Nevertheless, clinicians are encouraged to document carefully all the unilateral aspects of the feeling of a presence as well as of other reduplicative phenomena involving the self.

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Paired-Pulse Parietal-Motor Stimulation Differentially Modulates Corticospinal Excitability across Hemispheres When Combined with Prism Adaptation

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2016/5716179 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Selene Schintu ◽

Elisa Martín-Arévalo ◽

Michael Vesia ◽

Yves Rossetti ◽

Romeo Salemme ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Motor Evoked Potentials ◽

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Prism Adaptation ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Paired Pulse ◽

Posterior Parietal ◽

The Right

Rightward prism adaptation ameliorates neglect symptoms while leftward prism adaptation (LPA) induces neglect-like biases in healthy individuals. Similarly, inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) induces neglect-like behavior, whereas on the left PPC it ameliorates neglect symptoms and normalizes hyperexcitability of left hemisphere parietal-motor (PPC-M1) connectivity. Based on this analogy we hypothesized that LPA increases PPC-M1 excitability in the left hemisphere and decreases it in the right one. In an attempt to shed some light on the mechanisms underlying LPA’s effects on cognition, we investigated this hypothesis in healthy individuals measuring PPC-M1 excitability with dual-site paired-pulse TMS (ppTMS). We found a left hemisphere increase and a right hemisphere decrease in the amplitude of motor evoked potentials elicited by paired as well as single pulses on M1. While this could indicate that LPA biases interhemispheric connectivity, it contradicts previous evidence that M1-only MEPs are unchanged after LPA. A control experiment showed that input-output curves were not affected by LPAper se. We conclude that LPA combined with ppTMS on PPC-M1 differentially alters the excitability of the left and right M1.

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Clustering and switching in verbal fluency: a comparison between control and individuals with brain damage

CoDAS ◽

10.1590/2317-1782/20212020365 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Karina Carlesso Pagliarin ◽

Eduarda Giovelli Fernandes ◽

Maryndia Diehl Muller ◽

Caroline Rodrigues Portalete ◽

Rochele Paz Fonseca ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Damage ◽

Left Hemisphere ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Control Subjects ◽

Right Hemisphere Damage ◽

Unilateral Brain Damage ◽

Healthy Control ◽

Language Assessment Battery ◽

Fluency Task

ABSTRACT Purpose The aim of this study is to analyze and compare the performance and strategies used by control subjects and patients with unilateral brain damage on phonemic and semantic Verbal Fluency tasks. Methods The sample consisted of 104 participants divided into four groups (26 with left hemisphere damage and aphasia- LHDa, 28 with left hemisphere damage and no aphasia- LHDna, 25 with right hemisphere damage- RHD and 25 neurologically healthy control subjects). All participants were administered the phonemic (“M” letter-based) and semantic (animals) verbal fluency tasks from the Montreal-Toulouse Language Assessment Battery (MTL-BR). Results Patients in the LHDa group showed the worst performance (fewer words produced, fewer clusters and switches) in both types of fluency task. RHD group showed fewer switching productions when compared with controls and LHDna had fewer words productions than controls in the first 30 seconds block. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the LHDa group obtained lower scores in most measures of SVF and PVF when compared to the other groups.

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Neuroplasticity in Post-Stroke Aphasia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Functional Imaging Studies of Reorganization of Language Processing

Neurobiology of Language ◽

10.1162/nol_a_00025 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 22-82

Author(s):

Stephen M. Wilson ◽

Sarah M. Schneck

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Task Performance ◽

Left Hemisphere ◽

Functional Imaging ◽

Language Processing ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Multiple Comparisons ◽

Imaging Studies ◽

Post Stroke

Recovery from aphasia is thought to depend on neural plasticity, that is, the functional reorganization of surviving brain regions such that they take on new or expanded roles in language processing. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of all articles published between 1995 and early 2020 that have described functional imaging studies of six or more individuals with post-stroke aphasia, and have reported analyses bearing on neuroplasticity of language processing. Each study was characterized and appraised in detail, with particular attention to three critically important methodological issues: task performance confounds, contrast validity, and correction for multiple comparisons. We identified 86 studies describing a total of 561 relevant analyses. We found that methodological limitations related to task performance confounds, contrast validity, and correction for multiple comparisons have been pervasive. Only a few claims about language processing in individuals with aphasia are strongly supported by the extant literature: First, left hemisphere language regions are less activated in individuals with aphasia than in neurologically normal controls; and second, in cohorts with aphasia, activity in left hemisphere language regions, and possibly a temporal lobe region in the right hemisphere, is positively correlated with language function. There is modest, equivocal evidence for the claim that individuals with aphasia differentially recruit right hemisphere homotopic regions, but no compelling evidence for differential recruitment of additional left hemisphere regions or domain-general networks. There is modest evidence that left hemisphere language regions return to function over time, but no compelling longitudinal evidence for dynamic reorganization of the language network.

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WAIS-IV Profiles in First-Ever Unilateral Ischemic Stroke Patients

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024/1016-264x/a000104 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 239-252 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Johanna Theiling ◽

Franz Petermann ◽

Monika Daseking

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Ischemic Stroke ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Left Hemisphere ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Left Hemisphere Stroke ◽

Right Hemisphere Stroke

This study aims to identify WAIS-IV profiles in unilateral ischemic stroke patients in rehabilitation (n = 107) compared to matched controls, to determine if patients demonstrate lateralized cognitive impairment, and to investigate whether aphasia has an additional effect on language and working memory subtests. Analyses revealed impairment in performance of stroke patients relative to controls, while effect of left-hemisphere stroke were large on subtests with language and processing speed demands, and of right-hemisphere stroke on subtests with visuo-spatial and processing speed demands. Aphasia had an additional effect on language, working memory and processing speed subtests. Findings confirm the pattern of cognitive deficits found with older versions of the WAIS and suggest that the WAIS-IV detects cognitive deficits in stroke patients.

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Laterality of Poststroke Cortical Motor Activity during Action Observation Is Related to Hemispheric Dominance

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2018/3524960 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sook-Lei Liew ◽

Kathleen A. Garrison ◽

Kaori L. Ito ◽

Panthea Heydari ◽

Mona Sobhani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Activity ◽

Left Hemisphere ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Action Observation ◽

Hemispheric Dominance ◽

Dominant Hemisphere ◽

Cortical Motor ◽

Left Hemisphere Stroke ◽

Right Hemisphere Stroke

Background. Increased activity in the lesioned hemisphere has been related to improved poststroke motor recovery. However, the role of the dominant hemisphere—and its relationship to activity in the lesioned hemisphere—has not been widely explored. Objective. Here, we examined whether the dominant hemisphere drives the lateralization of brain activity after stroke and whether this changes based on if the lesioned hemisphere is the dominant hemisphere or not. Methods. We used fMRI to compare cortical motor activity in the action observation network (AON), motor-related regions that are active both during the observation and execution of an action, in 36 left hemisphere dominant individuals. Twelve individuals had nondominant, right hemisphere stroke, twelve had dominant, left-hemisphere stroke, and twelve were healthy age-matched controls. We previously found that individuals with left dominant stroke show greater ipsilesional activity during action observation. Here, we examined if individuals with nondominant, right hemisphere stroke also showed greater lateralized activity in the ipsilesional, right hemisphere or in the dominant, left hemisphere and compared these results with those of individuals with dominant, left hemisphere stroke. Results. We found that individuals with right hemisphere stroke showed greater activity in the dominant, left hemisphere, rather than the ipsilesional, right hemisphere. This left-lateralized pattern matched that of individuals with left, dominant hemisphere stroke, and both stroke groups differed from the age-matched control group. Conclusions. These findings suggest that action observation is lateralized to the dominant, rather than ipsilesional, hemisphere, which may reflect an interaction between the lesioned hemisphere and the dominant hemisphere in driving lateralization of brain activity after stroke. Hemispheric dominance and laterality should be carefully considered when characterizing poststroke neural activity.

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Unilateral Stroke: Computer-based Assessment Uncovers Non-Lateralized and Contralesional Visuoattentive Deficits

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617720001393 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Sanna Villarreal ◽

Matti Linnavuo ◽

Raimo Sepponen ◽

Outi Vuori ◽

Mario Bonato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Cancellation Task ◽

Computer Based ◽

Left And Right ◽

The Right ◽

Visual Inattention ◽

Left Hemisphere Stroke ◽

Right Hemisphere Stroke

Abstract Objective: Patients with unilateral stroke commonly show hemispatial neglect or milder contralesional visuoattentive deficits, but spatially non-lateralized visuoattentive deficits have also been reported. The aim of the present study was to compare spatially lateralized (i.e., contralesional) and non-lateralized (i.e., general) visuoattentive deficits in left and right hemisphere stroke patients. Method: Participants included 40 patients with chronic unilateral stroke in either the left hemisphere (LH group, n = 20) or the right hemisphere (RH group, n = 20) and 20 healthy controls. To assess the contralesional deficits, we used a traditional paper-and-pencil cancellation task (the Bells Test) and a Lateralized Targets Computer Task. To assess the non-lateralized deficits, we developed a novel large-screen (173 × 277 cm) computer method, the Ball Rain task, with moving visual stimuli and fast-paced requirements for selective attention. Results: There were no contralesional visuoattentive deficits according to the cancellation task. However, in the Lateralized Targets Computer Task, RH patients missed significantly more left-sided than right-sided targets in bilateral trials. This omission distribution differed significantly from those of the controls and LH patients. In the assessment of non-lateralized attention, RH and LH patients missed significantly more Ball Rain targets than controls in both the left and right hemifields. Conclusions: Computer-based assessment sensitively reveals various aspects of visuoattentive deficits in unilateral stroke. Patients with either right or left hemisphere stroke demonstrate non-lateralized visual inattention. In right hemisphere stroke, these symptoms can be accompanied by subtle contralesional visuoattentive deficits that have remained unnoticed in cancellation task.

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Investigation of the Effect of Mode and Tempo on Emotional Responses to Music Using EEG Power Asymmetry

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000099 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 142-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Konstantinos Trochidis ◽

Emmanuel Bigand

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Eeg Activity ◽

Musical Excerpt ◽

Major Mode ◽

Musical Modes ◽

Slow Tempo ◽

The Right

The combined interactions of mode and tempo on emotional responses to music were investigated using both self-reports and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity. A musical excerpt was performed in three different modes and tempi. Participants rated the emotional content of the resulting nine stimuli and their EEG activity was recorded. Musical modes influence the valence of emotion with major mode being evaluated happier and more serene, than minor and locrian modes. In EEG frontal activity, major mode was associated with an increased alpha activation in the left hemisphere compared to minor and locrian modes, which, in turn, induced increased activation in the right hemisphere. The tempo modulates the arousal value of emotion with faster tempi associated with stronger feeling of happiness and anger and this effect is associated in EEG with an increase of frontal activation in the left hemisphere. By contrast, slow tempo induced decreased frontal activation in the left hemisphere. Some interactive effects were found between mode and tempo: An increase of tempo modulated the emotion differently depending on the mode of the piece.

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