Receptive prosody in children with left or right hemisphere dysfunction.

Different groups of researchers have ascribed different roles and functions to the right cerebral hemisphere. In particular, it has been suggested that right hemisphere dysfunction interferes with the prosodic aspects of language. The present study examined this hypothesis using two groups of children identified through neuropsychological evaluation as having left or right hemisphere dysfunction and a control group of normal children. Specifically, the performances of the three groups on measures of receptive prosody were compared. Results provided support for the hypothesis that, in children, the right hemisphere subserves functions related to the prosodic aspects of language. Conclusions are interpreted in the context of previous research on right hemisphere language functions in children and implications for future research are discussed.