Neuropsychological assessment of the transcallosal approach.

The long-term consequences of partial callosal lesions were examined in 7 neurosurgically treated patients. Detailed clinical and neuropsychological assessment of the interhemispheric transfer (multimodal sensory and motor tasks) as well as memory and attention tests were used. The results revealed some disconnection symptoms with minor clinical significance, which could not be attributed to particular sites of the corpus callosum, except the splenium. It is questionable whether the reported memory and attention impairments are caused by the callosal lesion or by extracallosal pathology. The results indicate that the transcallosal approach is a safe and feasible alternative in the management of pathological midline processes in the brain.