Reduced Verbal Learning Associated With Posterior Temporal Lobe Slow Wave Activity

Functional imaging has revealed that during verbal-word learning there is activation of the left posterior temporo-parietal region (PTPL). The purpose of this study was to learn if differences in the ability of normal people to learn might be accounted for by differences in electrophysiological (EEG) measures of activation of their left, but not right, PTPL. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) was administered to 42 men without neurological diseases. Delta magnitude, as measured by quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), was recorded from the left and right PTPL while the participants sat quietly with their eyes closed. The magnitude of delta EEG activity is inversely proportional to cerebral activation. Based on delta magnitude, comparison groups were created by separating those with low and high delta at the left and right PTPL. Cumulative word learning (CWL) on the RAVLT was computed by subtracting the number of words recalled on the first learning trial from the highest number of words r...