Pitch and timing abilities in adult left-hemisphere-dysphasic and right-hemisphere-damaged subjects

The production and perception of pitch and rhythm were tested in patients w ith acquired unilateral left-hemisphere (LH) lesions land subsequent motor dysphasia, (n = 13), patients with unilateral right-hemisphere (RH) lesions (rt = 14), and normal age-matched controls. While the LH dysphasic subject s were not generally impaired on the production or perception of pitch, the y were grossly impair-ed on the production and perception of rhythm. The RH subjects, in contrast, were impaired on measures of pitch perception and p roduction, including the discrimination and production of single notes and of melodies. It is concluded that the two hemispheres differ in their speci alization for the perception and production of pitch and rhythm. (C) 2000 A cademic Press.