ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on studies which have reported detailed memory testing of patients. Studies of cerebral blood flow and brain metabolism in patients with cerebral tumours have yielded evidence of considerable abnormality of cerebral function, often greater than that evident on CT scanning, and sometimes spreading to the other hemisphere. In a study by J. S. Meyer and M. A. Falconer auditory verbal memory deficits were noted in patients with left temporal lobe tumours, but there was no evidence of corresponding non-verbal deficits in patients with right temporal lobe tumours. Turning to studies of changes in memory function after removal of cortical tumours, apart from a few clinical reports of improvement in cognitive function after tumour removal few systematic investigations have been carried out on memory function before and after surgery. Subcortical tumours may result in memory impairment either by direct effects on structures in the limbic system or a result of factors such as ventricular dilatation, raised intracranial pressure.
