title: The interpretation of sentence ambiguity in patients with unilateral focal brain surgery.
abstract: Interpretations of ambiguous sentences were studied in patients with unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy or selective amygdalo-hippocampectomy. The sentences represented lexical and syntactic ambiguities. In both left- and right-sided groups, regardless of type of surgery, total mean score on the test was below normal. Left-sided cases, regardless of type of surgery, provided significantly fewer alternative interpretations than right-sided cases. The results suggest greater left than right hemisphere specialization in both lexical and syntactic processing, but also suggest right hemisphere involvement in resolution of lexical ambiguity.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Psychology, UCLA 90024-1563, USA.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Zaidel
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zaidel
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Oxbury
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Oxbury
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male