title: Learning and recall of story content and spatial location after unilateral temporal-lobe excision in children and adolescents.
abstract: The present study examined verbal and spatial learning and memory in children and adolescents who had undergone unilateral temporal lobectomy versus controls. All participants were trained to criterion before a delay to assess learning efficiency. There were no significant differences between the groups in rate of learning the verbal task. The right temporal-lobe group, but not the left, had difficulty learning spatial information. These findings indicate a specific effect of early right temporal-lobe lesions on spatial learning. As material-specificity is more often found in adults for verbal information, the present results highlight the unique role of the temporal-lobe in development.
authors.affiliation: The University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hepworth
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013028:Space Perception; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*