title: Is math lateralised on the same side as language? Right hemisphere aphasia and mathematical abilities.
abstract: The main purpose of the present study was to learn how mathematical abilities are located and develop in the brain with respect to language. Mathematical abilities were assessed in six right-handed patients affected by aphasia following a lesion to their non-dominant hemisphere (crossed aphasia) and in two left-handed aphasics with a right-sided lesion. Acalculia, although in different degrees, was found in all cases. The type of acalculia depended on the type of aphasia, following patterns that have been previously observed in the most common aphasias resulting from left hemisphere lesions. No sign of right hemisphere or spatial acalculia (acalculia in left lateralised right-handed subjects) was detected. These results suggest that, as a rule, language and calculation share the same hemisphere. A primitive computational mechanism capable of recursion may be the precursor of both functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Trieste, Via S Anastasio 12, 34122 Trieste, Italy. semenza@univ.trieste.it
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Semenza
authors.forename: Margarete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delazer
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bertella
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Granà
authors.forename: Ileana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Fabio M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pignatti
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bartha
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Domahs
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Benke
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauro
mesh_terms: D001037:Aphasia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data