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The Wada Test: Current Perspectives and Applications

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Handbook on the Neuropsychology of Epilepsy

Part of the book series: Clinical Handbooks in Neuropsychology ((CHNEURO))

Abstract

The Wada test has been an integral part of the preoperative evaluation for epilepsy surgery since the 1950s. Originally designed to establish cerebral language laterality, it was subsequently modified by including a memory component to estimate postoperative risk to recent memory function following unilateral temporal lobe resection. This chapter will briefly review the use of Wada testing, discuss the various approaches used to transiently anesthetize brain regions prior to cognitive assessment, and conclude with the specific methods developed at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). The Wada test is not only employed to predict postoperative risks of language and memory deficits but is also a marker of temporal lobe dysfunction and as such should be sensitive to seizure-onset laterality in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Wada test results should always be interpreted within the context of other clinical and diagnostic test findings. The lessons learned from pitfalls in Wada testing should be carefully considered in the development and application of other techniques to assess focal cerebral function/dysfunction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Emory University, 101 Woodruff Circle, Suite 6000, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    David W. Loring Ph.D., A.B.P.P.-C.N.

  2. Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive (Room A343), Stanford, CA, 94305-5235, USA

    Kimford J. Meador M.D.

Authors
  1. David W. Loring Ph.D., A.B.P.P.-C.N.
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  2. Kimford J. Meador M.D.
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Correspondence to David W. Loring Ph.D., A.B.P.P.-C.N. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Neurosurgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    William B. Barr

  2. Dept. Neurosurgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Chris Morrison

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Loring, D.W., Meador, K.J. (2015). The Wada Test: Current Perspectives and Applications. In: Barr, W., Morrison, C. (eds) Handbook on the Neuropsychology of Epilepsy. Clinical Handbooks in Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92826-5_5

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