Cortical Mapping of Right Hemisphere Functions

Right hemisphere functions were examined during cortical stimulation in six patients undergoing epilepsy surgery. Two patients showed mild hemispatial neglect and constructional disability with stimulation of several sites in the inferior parietal lobule and posterior temporal lobe. Two other patients showed no disruption of visuospatial functions with stimulation of similar parietal or posterior temporal sites. Nonverbal acoustic perception of environmental sounds was not disrupted with stimulation of right superior temporal cortex in one patient, and musical abilities were not affected by right superior temporal stimulation in another patient. Nondominant hemisphere functions may be more widely distributed and less localized than linguistic functions in the dominant hemisphere.