The understanding of metaphors by individuals with right hemisphere brain damage: an investigation to be (re)considered

Abstract

Clinical observations of patients with damage on the right brain hemisphere show that in spite of having their linguistic abilities preserved, they prefer to stress literal interpretations, rejecting metaphoric ones. The present article presents the results of an empirical study carried out with normal right-handed individuals and right-handed individuals with right hemisphere brain damage – specifically the median brain artery –observed in three stages of understanding of metaphors. The data collected reveal some tendencies that diverge from the literature, since no significant differences were found between the two tested groups.