Brain-Behavior Relationships

Dysfunctions caused by Lesions
Assessment
References

Left Temporal

Primary functions of this lobe include: decoding of speech sounds, comprehension of speech and mediating verbal memory processes.

1. Auditory deficits (right ear)
   • Intracranial localization of sound is impaired (20).
   • Increased threshold for perception of short bursts of sound (4).
   • Increased threshold for some frequencies (19).
   • Failure to perceive brief simultaneous auditory stimulation (1).

2. Visual deficit (both eyes)
   • Upper right quadrantanopsia (18).

3. Other complex sensory deficits
   • Right hand tactile performance difficulty (10).
   • Right hand finger agnosia (10).

4. Language deficits
   • Decoding of speech sounds (phonemes) is impaired (11).
   • Problems with verbal repetition (11).
   • Problems with auditory comprehension of speech (3).
   • Receptive aphasia (deficits in all language qualities) (11).
   • Impairment of dichotic listening to verbal material (2).
   • Intellectual impairment on verbally mediated intellectual processes (11).

5. Memory impaired for verbal material (14).

6. Impairment on measures of higher cortical functions (Trails A and Trails B) (10).

7. Emotional disturbances
   • Perceptual distortions, alterations of mood, obsessional thinking, psychosis, temper outbursts, hypo and hypersexuality (9).

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B. Assessment devises for left temporal lobe lesions

1. Auditory tasks
   • Binaural localization of clicks (20).
   • Simultaneous auditory messages (1).
   • Short duration tone bursts-threshold testing(4).
   • Frequency threshold testing (19).
   • Dichotic listening (8).

2. Visual testing
   • Test visual perimetry (18).

3. Complex sensory tests
   • Tactual performance test (10).
   • Finger agnosia test (10).

4. Linguistic abilities tests
   • Speech sound perception test (5, 17).
   • K-V auditory discrimination test (7).
   • Token test (for comprehension) (3).
   • Aphasia exams
     • Wepman-Reitan Aphasia Screening Test (10).
     • Porch Index of Communicative Ability (16).
     • Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (6).
   • Dichotic listening (8, 2).

5. Measures of Intelligence
   • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; sensitive subtests include similarities, arithmetic, and digit symbol (10, 12).

6. Assessment of verbal memory
   • Hebb's recurring digits (digit span with every third list is repeated) (13).
   • Consonant trigrams (recall of a spoken set of three consonants following distraction) (13).
   • Discrimination of recency (subject required to indicate which of two verbal stimuli they have seen most recently) (9).
   • Recall of Logical Memory from Wechsler Memory Scale after a 1 hour delay (14).

7. Assessment of higher cortical functions
   • Trails A and Trails C (10).

8. Emotional disturbances
   • MMPI (17).

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References

1. Bocca, E. Clinical aspects of cortical deafness, Laryngoscope, 1958, 68, 301-309.
2. Broadbent, D.E. and Gregory, M. Accuracy of recognition for speech presented to the Right and Left ears. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1964, 16, 359-360.
3. De Renzi, E. and Vignolo, L.A. The token test: A sensitive test to detect receptive distrubances in aphasia, Brain, 1962, 85, 665.
4. Gersuni, G.V. Organization of afferent flow and the process of external signal discrimination, Neuropsychologia, 1965, 3, 95-110.
5. Golden, C.J. Diagnosis and Rebabiiitation in Clinical Neuropsychology, Springfield, Ill: C.C. Thomas, 1978.
6. Goodglass, H. and Kaplan, E. The assessment of Aphasia-and Related Disorders, Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1972.
7. Kay, C.G. The K-V test of auditory discrimination. Unpublished manuscript, 1980.
8. Kimura, D. Functional assymetry of the brain in dichotic listening, Cortex, 1967, 3, 163-178.
9. Lezak, M.D. Neuropsycholoigical Assessment, New York, Oxford Univ. Press,1976.
10. Long, C.J. and Brown, D.A. Analysis of temporal cortex dysfunction by neuropsychological techniques. Paper presented at the APA, New York, 1979.
11. Luria, A.R. Higher Cortical Functions in Man, New York, Basic Books, 1966.
12. McFie, J. Psychological testing in clinical neurology, Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, 1960, 131. 383-393.
13. Milner, B. Memory and the medial temporal regions of the brain, In K.H. Pribram and D.E. Broadbent (Eds.), Biology of Memory, New York, Academic Press, 1970.
14. Milner, B. Psychological deficits produced by temporal lobe excision. In. The Brain and Human Behavior, Proceedings of the Association for Research in Nervous and mental Disease, New York, Hafner Publishing Co., 1966.
15. Milner, B. & Teuber, H. L. Alterations of perception and memory in man. In L. Weiskrantz (Ed.), Analysis of Behavioral Change, New York, Harper & Row, 1968.
16. Porch, B. E. Porch Index of Communicative Ability, Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1967.
17. Reitan, R.M. & Davison, L.A. Clinical Neuropsychology: Current Status and Applications. Washington: Winston, 1974.
18. Spalding, J.M.K. Wounds of the visual pathway. Journal of Neurolgy, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 1952, 15, 99.
19. Swisher, L.P. Auditory intensity discrimination in patients with temporal lobe damage. Cortex, 1967, 3, 179-194.
20. Teuber, H.L. Effects cf brain wounds implicating right or left hemisphere in man. In Mountcastle, V.B. (Ed.) Interhemispheric Relations and Cerebral Dominance, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1962.