Article

In this paper we present the case of a left-sided speech dominant patient with
right medial temporal sclerosis (RMTS) and pharmacoresistant epilepsy who showed
improved verbal memory during intracarotid amobarbital test (IAT) at his right
hemisphere as compared with his own performance before the drug injection
(baseline), as well as after right selective amygdalohippocampectomy. We suggest
that the defective verbal memory shown by this patient is due to abnormal
activity of his right hippocampus that interfered with the function of his left
hippocampus. This hypothesis was demonstrated by the fact that disconnection of
the two hippocampi, either by anesthetisation or by resection of the right
hippocampus, disengaged the left hippocampus and, consequently improved its
function. This paper main objective is twofold: first to contribute to the field
of neuropsychology of epilepsy surgery by emphasising on postoperative memory
outcomes in right medial temporal lobe epilepsy (RMTLE) patients, particularly
those undergoing amygdalohippocampectomy, as the pattern of memory changes after
resection of the right temporal lobe is less clear; second, by focusing on memory
performance asymmetries during IAT, and comparatively considering them with
neuropsychological memory performance, because of their possible
prognostic-simulating value.

Langue : ANGLAIS