Relationship between lesion extent in 'Wernicke's area' on computed tomographic scan and predicting recovery of comprehension in Wernicke's aphasia

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between severity of auditory comprehension in Wernicke's aphasia and amount of temporal lobe damage within Wernicke's area (posterior two thirds of superior temporal gyrus region) as well as the total temporoparietal lesion size. There was a highly significant correlation between comprehension and the amount of temporal lobe lesion in Wernicke's area. There was no significant correlation between comprehension and the total temporoparietal lesion size. Patients with damage in only half or less than half of Wernicke's area had good comprehension at six months after the onset of stroke. Patients with damage in more than half of Wernicke's area had poor comprehension even one year after the onset of stroke. Additional anterior-inferior temporal lobe lesion extension into the middle temporal gyrus area was associated with particularly poor recovery.