Right Hemisphere Dysfunction Flashcards
Hemispheric Asymmetry
Right & left hemispheres are anatomically & functionally asymmetrical
Differences greatest in certain areas surrounding the sylvian fissure
Sylvian Fissure Hemispheric Differences
Slightly longer in the left hemisphere than the right
Planum temporale is a part of the superior surface of superior temporal gyrus; area is longer on the left than the right for most people
Left temporal opercular region is larger & more infolded on left than right (Broca’s)
Hemisphere Connections
Well-connected via corpus callosum
Contains more than 300 million axons (commissural fibers)
Left Brain Characteristics:
Uses logic, detail oriented, facts rule, words & language, past & present, math & science, can comprehend, knowing/ acknowledges, order/pattern perception, knows object name, reality based, forms strategies, practical & safe
Right Brain Characteristics:
uses feeling, “big picture” oriented, imagination rules, symbols & images, present & future, philosophy & religion, can “get it” (meaning), believes/appreciates, spatial perception, knows object’s function, fantasy based, present possibilities, impetuous & risk takers
Left Hemisphere Language
Speaking aloud, auditory comprehension, naming, reading comprehension, reading aloud, writing
Left Hemisphere Constructions
Internal detail
Left Hemisphere Calculation
Arithmetic processing
Left Hemisphere Memory
Verbal
Left Hemisphere Miscellaneous
Praxis
Right Hemisphere Language
Auditory comprehension, reading comprehension, prosodic expression, prosodic comprehension
Right Hemisphere Constructions
External configurations
Right Hemisphere Calculations
Spatial arrangement
Right Hemisphere Memory
Visuospatial
Right Hemisphere Miscellaneous
Facial Recognition
Right Hemisphere Function
Seemingly responsible for: arousal, orientation, attention; visual perception; emotional experience & expressions
In right handed individuals, the right hemisphere is responsible for ______ related to arousal, orientation, attention:
Arousal, orientation, vigilance, selective attention, sustained attention
Arousal
General readiness to respond to external stimuli; alert; ready to react
Orientation
Directing one’s attention to a specific stimulus, event, or location; know where you’re going
Vigilance
Sustained attention used to detect changes in the stimulus
Selective attention
Ignoring some stimuli while paying attention to certain specific stimuli
Related to visual perception, the right hemisphere appears to process:
Holistic, gestalt-like stimuli
Geometric & spatial info
Facial recognition
Body image
Holistic, gestalt-like stimuli
Looking at big picture; grasping meaning of total picture
Geometric & spatial information
Understanding or recognizing spatially organized shapes or figures
Facial recognition
Responsible for recognizing familiar faces; 4-10 month old infants will show interest in their mother’s faces (high amplitude sucking)
Body Image
Helps maintain proper body image & what’s acceptable socially based on life experiences, etc.
Right Hemisphere & Emotional Experiences & Expression
Dominant for emotions; perception of temporal order; perception of musical harmony; certain aspects of communication
Emotions
The expression of being angry, happy, sad, etc. (all the different emotions); understanding how emotions impact you based on the stimuli you’re receiving from environment (amygdala—fight and flight responses, etc); where that info is stored—what it means to be happy, sad, etc.
Perceptions of Temporal Order
Dominant for perceiving the temporal order or sequence of events; understanding the serial-ness of events
Perception of Musical Harmony
Music and processing of acoustic signals; generic music; understanding harmonies, etc.
Hemispheric Interplay & Communicative Functions
Possible w/ regards to discourse comprehension & production
Communicative Functions
Rt. hemisphere may be less efficient in understanding verbs than nouns; may help make inferences implied in verbal exchanges
Communicative efficiency & specificity may be centered in rt. hemisphere; understanding alternative & ambiguous meanings; understanding or expressing emotional tone of verbal expression; understanding or expressing prosodic aspects of speech; understanding contextual info of verbal expression; managing pragmatic communication skills
Pragmatic Communication Skills
Turn-taking
Topic Maintenance
Social Appropriateness of Communication
Eye Contact
Neuropathologies Etiologies
CVAs, tumors, head trauma, & various neurological disease processes
Neuropathologies
Individuals who sustain RHD secondary to posterior lesions don’t have motor disabilities
Those w/ frontal lobe damage will have motor disturbances
Varied Sx’s Pt’s w/ RHD might exhibit may be grouped according to:
Perceptual & attention deficits
Affective deficits
Communication deficits
Perceptual & attention deficits
Left neglect
Visuospatial impairments
Forms of disorientation
Left Neglect
Reduced sensitivity to stimuli, reduced awareness of space or absence of previously learned responses from stimuli in certain visual fields
Can result from damage to any lobe
Can be left or right dominant
Right parietal lobe damage produces left neglect in most pts
Left Neglect Characteristics
Right focus, difficulty shifting attention from right to left, failure to perceive left-sided tactile or perceptual stimuli, failure to copy left side of a picture or a geometric design, disownership of left body parts or belongings, denying illness (anosagnosia), left-neglect in reading/writing
