Crossed Nonaphasia and Its Implications for Brain-Language Relationships in Right-Handed Subjects

Abstract

Anomalous lateralization of linguistic functions is observed in a small group of right-handed subjects with unilateral brain damage as either crossed aphasia (aphasia after right-hemisphere damage) or crossed nonaphasia (left hemisphere damage without aphasia but with symptoms of right hemisphere damage such as visuospatial deficits). The incidence of crossed nonaphasia is reportedly far less than that of crossed aphasia, where the latter, in turn, is comparatively rare (Alexander & Annett, 1996). In this report, we discuss a subject who presented with “crossed nonaphasia,” a clinical manifestation that often could go unnoticed. An attempt is made to explain the observed clinical manifestations from the perspectives of our current understanding of anomalous organization of cognitive functions in the brain as well as its implications on language representation in right-handed subjects.