Some correlates of intra- and interhemispheric speech organization after left focal brain injury.

Determinants of inter- and intrahemispheric organization following left focal injury were examined with data deriving from four different studies that used three different assessment methods (amobarbital, temporal lobectomy, dichotic listening). With regard to interhemispheric reorganization, the results revealed that the earlier the lesion onset, the higher the probability of a biomodal hemispheric reorganization (speech and hand). A unimodal reorganization (speech only) was tied to a later occurring lesion, but one before age six. Furthermore, interhemispheric speech reorganization was associated with an early lesion onset while intrahemispheric speech maintenance was linked to a later lesion onset. The results are discussed in terms of hemispheric plasticity and functional maturity.