PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPARISON OF UNILATERAL AND BILATERAL THALAMIC SURGERY: A PRELIMINARY REPORT.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF UNILATERAL AND BILATERAL SUBCORTICAL SURGERY WERE EXAMINED. SPECIFICALLY, COGNITIVE AND PERCEPTUAL FUNCTIONS AND PERFORMANCE ON VISUAL AND AUDITORY TASKS OF RECENT RECALL WERE COMPARED IN THE STABILIZED POSTOPERATIVE SITUATION FOR SS UNDERGOING NO SURGERY, UNILATERAL RIGHT OR LEFT, AND BILATERAL CRYOTHALAMECTOMY. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES (P > .05) OBTAINED ON ANY OF THESE BEHAVIORAL DIMENSIONS. THE DISCUSSION FOCUSED ON THE RESILIENCE OF SO-CALLED "HIGHER INTEGRATIVE" ACTIVITIES AND THE FUNCTIONAL DUPLICATION OR EQUIVALENCE APPARENT AT THE SUBCORTICAL CORE. THE POSSIBILITY OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE BILATERAL SUBCORTICAL ZONE TO A BALANCE BETWEEN DIFFUSE BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION AND SPECIFIC PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS IS RAISED. (21 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)