Speech fluency in crossed aphasia

Abstract

Three strongly right-handed patients developed fluent aphasia after right hemisphere infarction documented by computerized tomography. For these patients and for other reported cases of crossed aphasia suitable for analysis, the correlation between fluency and infarct localization was similar to that of right-handed aphasics with left-sided lesions. Right hemisphere language representation in most crossed aphasics probably mirrors that normally present in the language-dominant left hemisphere. Two of these patients showed concomitant hemispatial inattention and visuoconstructive impairment. Right hemisphere language dominance therefore does not preclude ipsilateral specialization for visuospatial functions.