title: Complex syntax in the isolated right hemisphere: Receptive grammatical abilities after cerebral hemispherectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, we explored the syntactic competence of the right hemisphere (RH) after left cerebral hemispherectomy, on the premise that it (syntactic competence) is known to be one of the most strongly left-lateralized language functions. As basic syntactic development for individuals in this subject pool has already been extensively explored, we focused instead on the investigation of complex syntactic constructions that are normally acquired later in childhood, i.e., between 7 and 9years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Grammatical competence in 10 participants who had undergone left cerebral hemispherectomy was compared to that of a group of normally developing children, with the two groups matched by the size of their vocabulary. The two tests we used for this research were created by the 1st language acquisition linguists and were designed to test sets of constructions categorized and differentiated by the order in which they are normally acquired and by the type of grammatical competence that they involve.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that both groups followed the same developmental sequence of syntactic development with five (50%) postsurgical participants (all with prenatal etiologies) reaching nearly mature command of sentence grammar. Seizures negatively impacted performance on all tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The isolated RH has the potential to support the complex grammatical categories that emerge relatively late in the normal acquisition of English by native speakers. Successful performance may be related to the timing of the initial insult and seizure control following hemispherectomy.
authors.affiliation: The Brain Recovery Project, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: sdebode@brainrecoveryproject.org.
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Bode
authors.affiliation: Department of Linguistics, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lieselotte
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smets
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurosurgery and Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Mattel Children's Hospital, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Mattel Children's Hospital, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Brain Research Institute, Mattel Children's Hospital, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Mathern
authors.affiliation: Linguistics Program, University of South Carolina, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dubinsky
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D038421:Hemispherectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D012640:Seizures / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Cerebral hemispherectomy; Rasmussen's encephalitis; Seizure control; Syntax