Comparison of right hemisphere damage patients and normal adults in some linguistic performances

According to some evidence, damage to the right hemisphere leads to impaired linguistic and cognitive functions. Patients with right hemisphere damage (RHD) experience difficulties at different levels of language. Assessing and diagnosing language disorders in RHD patients help to plan treatment programs. Therefore, the present study investigated some of the language functions in the semantic, syntactic, and figurative language of Persian-speaking adults with right hemisphere damage using tests available in Persian.

The subjects included 12 Persian-speaking adults with ischemic stroke referred to hospitals and rehabilitation centers of Tehran. Their language performances compared to that of their peers. In this study, we conducted and analyzed the homophone meaning generation and verbal fluency tests to measure semantic performance, comprehension test of proverbs and irony to evaluate figurative language functions, and syntactic comprehension test to evaluate syntax.

Findings showed that RHD patients performed significantly worse than healthy individuals in semantic, syntactic, and figurative language (P<0.05). The eldest differences between the two groups were in verbal fluency tests (number index), homophone meaning generation, and syntactic comprehension, respectively.

According to the results, RHD patients have difficulties in language functions, especially in semantic, syntactic, and figurative language. The results of this study can help speech and language therapists in clinical evaluation and planning treatment programs for RHD patients.