Functional Adaptation to Traumatic Brain Injury: Recovery of Function Following Left Hemisphere Damage Acquired in Adulthood

Citation

O'Carroll R & Prentice N (1996) Functional Adaptation to Traumatic Brain Injury: Recovery of Function Following Left Hemisphere Damage Acquired in Adulthood. Neurocase, 2 (6), pp. 503-508. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?partnerID=yv4JPVwI&eid=2-s2.0-0030469654&md5=8b123b08687fc92a239d9b6fc3aaa0ea; https://doi.org/10.1080/13554799608402426

Abstract
We report a case of a subject (HA) who suffered a very severe head injury in a road traffic accident In 1944 (aged 21 years). She subsequently made an excellent recovery and had not suffered any long-term sequelae to this until she exhibited psychotic symptomatology in 1971, when she developed temporal lobe epilepsy with marked paranoid delusional ideas. This has been well-controlled over the years with sodium valproate, but when HA has stopped this of her own volition there has been a marked deterioration in her condition, and she has ended up wandering the country trying to evade her persecutors. On her recent admission to psychiatric services in 1995, brief cognitive testing revealed her to be fully orientated in time, place and person, with a good general knowledge and able to perform well on simple tests of concentration and recent memory. Physical examination was unremarkable and the neurological examination identified no focal abnormality. However, an MRI scan revealed that the left temporal and inferior parietal lobe had been almost completely replaced by CSF. Detailed neuropsychological examination Identified average or above-average performance on all tests administered, with the exception of verbal fluency and Stroop. The patient spontaneously described her use of compensatory visualization techniques which appear to be very successful in her day-to-day activities. The case highlights the presence of relatively normal performance on neurological and neuropsychological examination In the presence of devastating lateralized brain damage, acquired in adulthood, and the apparent success of a ‘self-taught' compensatory visualization strategy.

Journal
Neurocase: Volume 2, Issue 6