VERBAL AND NONVERBAL MEMORY AMONG CHILDREN WITH RIGHT OR LEFT BRAIN LESIONS

Abstract

No previous studies of memory in children with left or right brain lesions have been reported, despite known sequelae in other aspects of learning. Memory for verbal (V) and nonverbal (NV) stimuli was evaluated here through a selective reminding task in which animal names (V) and dot patterns (NV) were learned over 8 trials. Measures of V and NV long-term storage (LTS) and cumulative long-term retrieval (CLTR) were made. 18 left lesioned (LL), 13 right lesioned (RL), and 31 age, sex, and SES matched control (C) children were included. All LLs and RLs had CT scan confirmation of unilateral lesions of vascular origin and were >1 yr. post lesion onset. M age at lesion onset was 4.05±4.59; M age at test was 9.42±3.89. M IQ for all groups was within normal limits, but IQ for RLs was significantly lower than for Cs. M T-scores, derived from age norms, SD and Ms adjusted for IQ differences⁺ were:

Multivariate analyses revealed significant differences as noted above. These findings suggest that LLs store V and NV information, but do not retrieve V information normally. RLs have difficulty retrieving NV and also storing V information, possibly due to attentional limitations. These memory deficits correspond to lesion lateralization and hold implications for education.

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