The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

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ArticleTitle	Super-selective Wada test for preoperative cognitive assessment
Language	J
AuthorList	Kyoko Suzuki
Affiliation	Department of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
Publication	Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 38 (3), 203-208, 2022
Received
Accepted
Abstract	For preservation of postoperative cognitive function, it is important to know the distribution of functional areas in each individual preoperatively. The Wada test has long been used to estimate language lateralization and postoperative memory impairment, but has not been sufficient to predict impairment of each cognitive function. In recent years, less invasive method, functional MRI, has been used to determine the language lateralization. However, the areas of activation by functional MRI are not the areas essential for language, where resection would result in language impairment, but rather the areas related to language. With the technological development of endovascular manipulation, the super-selective Wada test was developed, in which anesthetic is injected into a branch of a cerebral artery. In the super-selective Wada test in the middle cerebral artery, it is possible to examine each function of language and to estimate the distribution of language areas while the patient remains awake. The super-selective Wada test in the posterior cerebral artery allows us to infer memory deficits after hippocampal resection by separately examining verbal and visual memory. Thus, the super-selective Wada test may be a valuable tool for simulating the postoperative functional state and determining the treatment strategy.
Keywords	language dominant hemisphere, electrocortical stimulation, epilepsy, memory, amytal test