WADA MEMORY ASYMMETRIES PREDICT VERBAL MEMORY DECLINE AFTER ANTERIOR TEMPORAL LOBECTOMY

We examined Wada memory and neuropsychological memory function in 34 n onlesional patients who underwent anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) an d who were seizure free at 1-year follow-up. Patients who displayed a decline on verbal memory measures that exceeded 1 SD after left ATL ha d significantly smaller left/right Wada memory asymmetries than left A TL patients without a significant verbal memory decline. When Wada mem ory asymmetries were used to predict verbal memory decline after left ATL in individual patients, similar statistically significant effects were present. No significant relationship between Wada memory and post operative memory was present in right ATL patients, and postoperative memory function was not related to Wada memory performance after eithe r left hemisphere or right hemisphere injection alone. We conclude tha t Wada memory asymmetries provide one measure of the risk to material- specific decline in verbal memory after left ATL.