Right Hemisphere Stroke and the California Verbal Learning Test: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Method: This study examines group and individual performance on word list recall and recognition in 52 patients with unilateral right hemisphere stroke. Results: On the California Verbal Learning Test, List A, Trials 1–5, patients achieved a mean score of 30.31 (SD = 13.94), which is below the mean standard score of 50 (SD = 10) in a normal population. Patients demonstrated below-average performance on other immediate and delayed recall trials and on free- and cued-recall tasks. 67% of patients showed improved performance across learning trials. Conclusion: Results provide support for encoding deficits with reduced rate of learning and inconsistent recall across trials.

Keywords:

• memory
• right hemisphere damage
• stroke
• verbal learning