What is it about?
Prosody is an important component of communication that can be disrupted subsequent to damage to the left or right cerebral hemisphere. This study is a literature review that analyzes effect sizes from articles published between 1970 and February 1, 2020. Prosody used to convey emotion was distinguished from prosody used to convey linguistic distinctions. There is some support for lesions to the right hemisphere rather than the left hemisphere being selectively associated with problems understanding emotional prosody. In addition, serious problems with the existing literature are discussed.
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Why is it important?
This review illustrates the heterogeneity of research methods and results from studies of aprosodia. There is inconsistent support for the selective contribution of the two cerebral hemispheres to prosody comprehension and production, although, some evidence suggests that right hemisphere lesions disrupt emotional prosody comprehension more than left hemisphere lesions. Evidence from this review highlights a need to revisit the simplified view of right hemisphere lateralization for prosody that is widely taught and might, in turn, misdirect clinical practice.
Perspectives
This article represents two major things: the importance of literature reviews based on effect sizes and the value of multi-lab collaborations. This article was one of several papers that explored prosodic impairments following right hemisphere brain damage. These papers, each with a different set of authors, are part of an umbrella project undertaken by the Right Hemisphere Disorders Working Group, which is part of the Evidence-Based Clinical Research Committee of the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences. This working group carried out the initial literature review for this and other articles.
Kristine Lundgren
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Aprosodia Following Focal Brain Damage: What's Right and What's Left?, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, October 2022, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA),
DOI: 10.1044/2022_ajslp-21-00302.
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