Limitations of Wada memory asymmetry as a predictor of outcomes after temporal lobectomy

Abstract

Unexpected asymmetry is uncommon in patients with right anterior temporal lobectomy (R-ATL) and may be a risk marker of poor surgical outcome. This relationship may be obscured by language confounds in patients with L-ATL. The results suggest that Wada asymmetry (using mixed stimuli) does not predict postoperative verbal memory; it is unclear whether this finding is generalizable to centers using only nonverbal stimuli.