Abstract
While the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP) was originally utilized to lateralize speech functions as an aid in the surgical treatment of epilepsy, additional uses for the IAP have emerged including: (1) the use of the IAP to predict post-surgical memory changes, including both global amnesia and smaller, yet significant, material-specific memory deficits; (2) the use of the IAP to provide confirmatory evidence of lateralization of seizure focus; and (3) the use of the IAP to predict post-surgical relief from seizures. While the literature on the IAP is extensive and growing, its utility is marred by the wide variability associated with the procedure itself from epilepsy center to center. This variability renders comparisons among IAP studies problematic and conclusions about IAP efficacy difficult. The variability associated with the amobarbital procedures, as well as the reliability and the validity of the IAP in its nonlanguage uses is reviewed here. A special emphasis is devoted to research conducted in the last decade. Also discussed is the future of the IAP including anticipated research directions.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Aasly, J., and Silfvenius, H. (1990). Evaluation of early and late presented tasks in the intracarotid Amytal test for epileptic patients. Epilepsy Research 7: 155–164.
Adair, J. C., Gilmore, R. L., Fennell, E. B., Gold, M., and Heilman, K. M. (1995). Anosognosia during intracarotid barbiturate anesthesia. Neurology 45: 241–243.
Baldy-Mulinier, M., Coubes, P. Orellana, C., and Nargeot, C. (1994). Investigation of speech and memory with intracarotid methohexital test [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 99.
Barr, W. B., Schaul, N., Decker, R., and Lantos, G. (1992a). post-operative amnesia after “passing” memory testing during the intracarotid amytal procedure [Abstract]. Epilepsia 33: 138.
Barr, W. B., Schaul, N., Decker, R., and Lantos, G. (1992b, December). Post-operative amnesia after “passing” memory testing during the intracarotid amytal procedure. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Epilepsy Society Meeting, Seattle, WA.
Biersack, H. J., Linke, D., Brassel, F., Reichmann, K., Kurthen, M., Durwen, H. F., Reuter, B. M., Wappenschmidt, J., and Stefan, H. (1987). Technetium-99m HMPAO brain SPECT in epileptic patients before and during unilateral hemispheric anesthesia (Wada test): Report of three cases. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 28: 1763–1767.
Binder, J. R., Swanson, S. J., Hammeke, T. A., Morris, G. L., Mueller, W. M., Fischer, M., Benbadis, S., Frost, J. A., Rao, S. M., and Haughton, V. M. (1996). Determination of language dominance using functional MRI: A comparison with the Wada test. Neurology 46: 978–984.
Bouwer, M. S., Jones-Gotman, M., and Gotman, J. (1993). Duration of Sodium Amytal effect: Behavioral and EEG measures. Epilepsia 34: 61–68.
Breier, J. I., Adair, J. C., Gold, M., Fennell, E. B., Gilmore, R. L., and Heilman, K. M. (1995). Dissociation of anosognosia for hemiplegia and aphasia during left-hemisphere anesthesia. Neurology 45: 65–67.
Breier, J. I., Thomas, A. B., Plenger, P. M., Wheless, J. W., Brookshire, B. L., Papanicolaou, A., and Willmore, L. J. (1997). Asymmetries in the effect of side of seizure onset on recognition memory following intracarotid amobarbital injection. Epilepsia 38: 1209–1215.
Brown, E. R., Gershengorn, J., Devinsky, O., Luciano, D., and Perrine, K. (1992). Memory testing during the intracarotid amobarbital procedure predicts laterality of seizure focus [Abstract]. Neurology 42 (Suppl. 3): 449.
Buchtel, H. A., Henry, T. R., and Abou-Khalil, B. (1992, February). Memory for neurological deficits during the intracarotid Amytal procedure:Ahemispheric difference. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, San Diego, CA.
Buchtel, H. A., Sackellares, J. C., Abou-Khalil, B.W., Berent, S., Gilman, S., Siegel, G. J., Hichwa, R. D., Hutchins, G. D., and Hood, D. W. (1987). Glucose metabolism in mesial temporal regions as a predictor of memory performance during the carotid sodium amytal test. Epilepsia 28: 619.
Caner-Cukiert, A. R., Cukiert, A., Yacubian, E. M. T., Gronich, G., and Marino, R. (1994). Results from the intracarotid Amytal procedure (IAP) in patients with uni-or bitemporal lobe epilepsy and mesial sclerosis [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 99.
Carpenter, K., Berti, A., Oxbury, S., Molyneux, A. J., Bisiach, E., and Oxbury, J. M. (1995). Awareness of and memory for arm weakness during intracarotid Sodium Amytal testing. Brain 118: 243–251.
Chelune, G. J. (1995). Hippocampal adequacy versus functional reserve: Predicting memory functions following temporal lobectomy. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 10: 413–432.
Chelune, G. J., Kneebone, A. C., Dinner, D., Awad, I. A., and Naugle, R. I. (1993). Contributions of the IAP and baseline neuropsychological testing for predicting memory outcome following epilepsy surgery: Further support for the “functional adequacy” model of hippocampal function [Abstract]. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 15: 24.
Chelune, G. J., Naugle, R. I., Lüders, H., and Awad, I. A. (1991). Prediction of cognitive change as a function of preoperative ability status among temporal lobectomy patients seen at 6-month follow-up. Neurology 41: 399–404.
Chelune, G. J., Naugle, R. I., Lüders, H., Sedlak, J., and Awad, I. A. (1993). Individual change after epilepsy surgery: Practice effects and base-rate information. Neuropsychology 7: 41–52.
Christianson, S. A., Säisä, J., Silfvenius, H. (1990). Hemisphere memory differences in Sodium Amytal testing of epileptic patients. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 12: 681–694.
Dade, L. A., and Jones-Gotman, M. K. (1994). Preoperative performance on the sodium amobarbital test and immediate postoperative memory [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 78.
Davies, K. G., Hermann, B. P., and Foley, K. T. (1995). Carotid Amytal test memory asymmetry correlates with hippocampal sclerosis in anterior temporal lobectomy patients [Abstract]. Epilepsia 36 (Suppl. 4): 145.
Davies, K. G., Hermann, B. P., and Foley, K. T. (1996). Relationship between intracarotid amobarbital memory asymmetry scores and hippocampal sclerosis in patients undergoing anterior temporal lobe resections. Epilepsia 37: 522–525.
Desmond, J. E., Sum, J. M., Wagner, A. D., Demb, J. B., Shear, P. K., Glover, G. H., Gabrieli, J. D. E., and Morrell, M. J. (1995). Functional MRI measurement of language lateralization inWada-tested patients. Brain 118: 1411–1419.
Detre, J. A., Maccotta, L., King, D., Alsop, D. C., Glosser, G., D'Esposito, M., Zarahn, E., Aguirre, G. K., and French, J. A. (1998). Functional MRI lateralization of memory in temporal lobe epilepsy. Neurology 50: 926–932.
Deutsch, G. K., and Glosser,G. (1996, February). Anosognosia for hemiplegia and speech disorder during the intracarotid amobarbital test. Poster session presented at the meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Chicago, IL.
Dinner, D. S., Lüders, H., Morris, H. H., Wyllie, E., and Kramer, R. E. (1987). Validity of intracarotid sodium amobarbital (Wada test) for evaluation of memory function [Abstract]. Neurology 37 (Suppl. 1): 142.
Dodrill, C. B. (1993). Preoperative criteria for identifying eloquent brain: Intracarotid Amytal for language and memory testing. Epilepsy Surgery 4: 211–216.
Dodrill, C. B., and Ojemann, G. A. (1997). An exploratory comparison of three methods of memory assessment with the Intracarotid Amobarbital Procedure. Brain and Cognition 33: 210–223.
Durkin, M. W., Meador, K. J., Nichols, M. E., Lee, G. P., and Loring, D.W. (1994). Anosognosia and the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (Wada test). Neurology 44: 978–979.
Eckard, D., Jackson, S., Osorio, I., Preston, D., and Troster, A. (1994). Internal carotid artery perfuses anterior mesial temporal lobe while posterior cerebral artery perfuses posterior mesial temporal lobe [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 73.
Fried, I., Novelly, R. A., Sass, K. J., and Spencer, D. D. (1990). Recall and recognition memory in patients with intracranial lesions: Evidence from the intracarotid Amytal procedure [Abstract]. Epilepsia 31: 685.
Friedman, D. (1991). Comment on: Mapping distribution of amobarbital sodium in the intracarotid Wada test with use of Tc-99m HMPAO with SPECT. Radiology 181: 605–606.
Gabrieli, J. D. E., Brewer, J. B., Desmond, J. E., and Glover, G. H. (1997). Separate neuronal bases of two fundamental memory processes in the human medial temporal lobe. Science 276: 264–266.
Gilmore, R. L., Heilman, K. M., Schmidt, R. P., Fennell, E. M., and Quisling, R. (1992). Anosognosia during Wada testing. Neurology 42: 925–927.
Girvin, J. P., McGlone, J., McLachlan, R. S., and Blume, W. T. (1987). Validity of the sodium amobarbital test for memory in selected patients [Abstract]. Epilepsia 28: 636.
Glosser, G., Saykin, A. J., Deutsch, G. K., O'Conner, M. J., and Sperling, M. R. (1995). Neural organization of material-specific memory functions in temporal lobe epilepsy patients as assessed by the intracarotid amobarbital test. Neuropsychology 9: 449–456.
Gotman, J., Bouwer, M., and Jones-Gotman, M. (1992). Intracranial EEG study of brain structures affected by internal carotid injection of amobarbital. Neurology 42: 2136–2143.
Hamberger, M. J. (1998). Transient Anton syndrome during intracarotid amobarbital testing in a patient with preexisting hemianopsia. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 14: 115.
Hart, J., Gordan, B., Lesser, R., Fisher, R., and Swerdt, P. (1989). Intracarotid amobarbital injection: Results of a standardized memory test protocol in 30 patients [Abstract]. Epilepsia 30: 713.
Hermann, B. P., Wyler, A. R., and Somes, G. (1993). Memory loss following left anterior temporal lobectomy is associated with hippocampal pathology and not extent of hippocampal resection. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 15: 24.
Hermann, B. P., Wyler, A. R., Somes, G., Dohan, F. C., Berry, A. D., and Clement, L. (1993). Declarative memory following anterior temporal lobectomy in humans. Behavioral Neuroscience 108: 3–10.
Hietala, S. O., Silfvenius, H., Aasly, J., Olivecrona, M., and Jonsson, L. (1990). Brain perfusion with intracarotid injection of 99mTc-HMPAO in partial epilepsy during amobarbital testing. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine 16: 683–687.
Ivnik, R. J., Sharbrough, F. W., and Laws, E. R. (1988). Anterior temporal lobectomy for control of complex partial seizures: Information for counseling patients. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 63: 783–791.
Jack, C. R., Nichols, D. A., Sharbrough, F. W., Marsh, W. R., and Petersen, R. C. (1988). Selective posterior cerebral artery Amytal test for evaluating memory function before surgery for temporallobe seizure. Radiology 168: 787–793.
Jack, C. R., Nichols, D. A., Sharbrough, F. W., Marsh, W. R., Petersen, R. C., Hinkeldey, N. S. Ivnik R. J., Cascino, G. D., and Ilstrup, D. M. (1989). Selective posterior cerebral artery injection of Amytal: New method of preoperative memory testing. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 64: 965–975.
Jeffery, P. J., Monsein, L. H., Szabo, Z., Hart, J., Fisher, R. S., Lesser, R. P., Debrun, G. M., Gordon, B., Wagner, H. N., and Camargo, E. E. (1991). Mapping the distribution of amobarbital sodium in the intracarotidWada test by use of Tc-99m HMPAO with SPECT. Radiology 178: 847–850.
Jones-Gotman, M. (1987). Commentary: Psychological evaluationtesting hippocampal function. In Engel, J., Jr. (ed.), Surgical Treatment of the epilepsies, Raven Press, New York, NY (pp. 203–211).
Jones-Gotman, M. (1992). Neuropsychological techniques in the identification of epileptic foci. In Theodore, W. H. (ed.), Surgical Treatment of Epilepsy (Epilepsy Res. Suppl. 5, pp. 87–94). Elsevier Science Publishers.
Jones-Gotman, M., Barr, W. B., Dodrill, C. B., Gotman, J., Meador, K. J., Rausch, R., Sass, K. J., Sharbrough, F. W., Silfvenius, H., and Wieser, H. G. (1993). Postscript: Controversies concerning the use of intraarterial amobarbital procedures. In Engel, J., Jr. (ed.). Surgical Treatment of the Epilepsies (2nd ed., pp. 445–449). Raven Press, New York, NY.
Jones-Gotman, M., Bouwer, M. S., and Gotman, J. (1994). EEG slow waves and memory performance during the intracarotid amobarbital test. Epilepsia 35: 61–69.
Killgore, W. D. S., Glosser, G., and Detre, J. A. (1998, November). Prediction of seizure outcome following anterior temporal lobectomy: fMRI vs. IAT. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Washington, DC.
Kneebone, A. C., Chelune, G. J., Dinner, D. S., Awad, I. A., and Naugle, R. I. (1992). Use of the intracarotid amobarbital procedure to predict material specific memory change following anterotemporal lobectomy [Abstract]. Epilepsia 33 (Suppl. 3): 87.
Kneebone, A. C., Chelune, G. J., Dinner, D. S., Naugle, R. I., and Awad, I. A. (1995). Intracarotid amobarbital procedure as a predictor of material-specific memory change after anterior temporal lobectomy. Epilepsia 36: 857–865.
Kneebone, A. C., Chelune, G. J., and Lüders, H. O. (1997). Individual patient prediction of seizure lateralization in temporal lobe epilepsy: A comparison between neuropsychological memory measures and the intracarotid amobarbital procedure. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 3: 159–168.
Kubu, C., Pavol, M., McLachlan, R., Girvin, J., and Harnadek, M. (1996, February). Post-operative memory outcome in temporal lobectomy patients who fail the intra-carotid amobarbital procedure (IAP) bilaterally. Poster session presented at the meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Chicago, IL.
Lee, K., Hamberger, M. J., Walczak, T. S., Helmer, D., and Goodman, R. S. (1994). Predicting seizure onset lateralization with Wada memory asymmetries in patients with good surgical outcomes. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 74.
Le Jeune, J., Dodrill, C. B., and Ojemann, G. A. (1994). The intracarotid Amytal procedure (IAP) provides moderate assistance lateralizing the side of epilepsy surgery [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 73.
Lesser, R. P., Dinner, D. S., Lüders, H., and Morris, H. H. (1986). Memory for objects presented soon after intracarotid amobarbital sodium injections in patients with medically intractable complex partial seizures. Neurology 36: 895–899.
Loring, D. W. (1997). Neuropsychological evaluation in epilepsy surgery. Epilepsia 38 (Suppl. 4): S18-S23.
Loring, D. W., Hermann, B. P., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., Gallagher, B. B., King, D. W., Murro, A. M., Smith, J. R., and Wyler, A. R. (1994). Amnesia after unilateral temporal lobectomy: A case report. Epilepsia 35: 757–763.
Loring, D. W., Hermann, B. P., Perrine, K., Plenger, P. M., Lee, G. P., and Meador, K. J. (1997). Effect of Wada memory stimulus type in discriminating lateralized temporal lobe impairment. Epilepsia 38: 219–224.
Loring, D. W., Lee, G. P., Gratton, C. A., and Meador, K. J. (1992). Dose and language effects on Wada memory testing [Abstract]. Neurology 42 (Suppl. 3): 449.
Loring, D. W., Lee, G. P., and Meador, K. J. (1994). Intracarotid amobarbital (Wada) assessment. In Wyler, A. W., and Hermann, B. P. (eds.), The surgical management of epilepsy, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, MA, pp. 97–110, E261–263.
Loring, D. W., Lee, G. P., Meador, K. J., Flanigin, H. F., Smith, J. R., Figueroa, R. E., and Martin, R. C. (1990). The intracarotid amobarbital procedure as a predictor of memory failure following unilateral temporal lobectomy. Neurology 40: 605–610.
Loring, D. W., Lee, G. P., Meador, K. J., Gratton, C. A., Nichols, M., Murro, A. M., Gallagher, B. B., King, D. W., and Smith, J. R. (1992). Timing of stimulus presentation and Wada memory performance. Epilepsia 33 (Suppl. 3): 138.
Loring, D. W., Meador, K. J., and Lee, G. P. (1991). Amobarbital dosage effects on Wada memory [Abstract]. Neurology 41: 299.
Loring, D. W., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., and King, D. W. (1992). Amobarbital Effects and Lateralized Brain Function: The Wada test. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Loring, D. W., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., King, D. W., Gallagher, B. B., Murro, A. M., and Smith, J. R. (1994). Stimulus timing effects on Wada memory testing. Archives of Neurology 51: 806–810.
Loring, D. W., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., King, D. W., Nichols, M. E., Park, Y. D., Murro, A. M., Gallagher, B. B., and Smith, J. R. (1995). Wada memory asymmetries predict verbal memory decline after anterior temporal lobectomy. Neurology 45: 1329–1333.
Loring, D. W., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., and Martin, R. C. (1990). Unilateral amobarbital injections fail to produce retrograde memory deficits. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 12: 86.
Loring, D. W., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., Nichols, M. E., King, D. W., Gallagher, B. B., Murro, A. M., and Smith, J. R. (1994). Wada memory performance predicts seizure outcome following anterior temporal lobectomy. Neurology 44: 2322–2324.
Loring, D. W., Murro, A. M., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., Gratton, C. A., Nichols, M. E., Gallagher, B. B., King, D. W., and Smith, J. R. (1993a). Hippocampal volume and Wada memory asymmetries [Abstract]. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 15: 25.
Loring, D. W., Murro, A. M., Meador, K. J., Lee, G. P., Gratton, C. A., Nichols, M. E., Gallagher, B. B., King, D. W., and Smith, J. R. (1993b). Wada memory testing and hippocampal volume measurements in evaluation for temporal lobectomy. Neurology 43: 1789–1793.
McGlone, J. (1994). Memory complaints before and after temporal lobectomy: Do they predict memory performance or lesion laterality? Epilepsia 35: 529–539.
McGlone, J., and MacDonald, B. H. (1989). Reliability of the sodium amobarbital test for memory. Journal of Epilepsy 2: 31–39.
McGlone, J., MacDonald, B. H., McLachlan, R. S., Blume, W. T., and Girvin, P. (1987). Validity of the sodium amobarbital test for memory [Abstract]. Epilepsia 28: 619.
McSweeny, A. J., Chelune, G. J., Naugle, R. I., Lüders, H., and Awad, I. (1992, August). “T-scores for change” and the effects of seizurecontrol surgery. Paper presented at meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Milner, B. (1972). Disorders of learning and memory after temporal-lobe lesions in man. Clinical Neurosurgery 19: 421–446.
Milner, B., Branch, C., and Rasmussen, T. (1962). Study of short-term memory after intracarotid injection of sodium Amytal. Transactions of the American Neurological Association 87: 224–226.
Morris, R. G., Polkey, C. E., and Cox, T. (1998). Independent recovery of memory and language functioning during the intracarotid sodium Amytal test. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 20: 433–444.
Morton, N., Polkey, C. E., Cox, T., and Morris, R. G. (1996). Episodic memory dysfunction during Sodium Amytal testing of epileptic patients in relation to posterior cerebral artery perfusion. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 18: 24–37.
Naugle, R. I., Chelune, G. J., Tucker, G. D., Young, K., and Lüders, H.O. (1994). Self report of memory is related to formal examination results [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35: 70.
Novelly, R. A. (1987). Relationship of intracarotid amytal procedure to clinical and neurosurgical variables in epilepsy surgery [Abstract]. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 9: 33.
Novelly, R. A., and Williamson, P. D. (1989). Incidence of falsepositive memory impairment in the intracarotid Amytal procedure [Abstract]. Epilepsia 30: 711.
Ojemann G. A., Sutherling, W. W., Lesser, R. P., Dinner, D. S., Jayakar, P., and Sait-Hillaire, J. M. (1993). Cortical Stimulation. In Engel, J., Jr. (ed.), Surgical treatment of the epilepsies, Raven Press, New York, NY, pp. 399–415.
Penfield, W., and Milner, B. (1958). Memory deficit produced by bilateral lesions in the hippocampal zone. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 79: 475–497.
Perrine, K., Devinsky, O., Pacia, S., Luciano, D. J., Vazquez, B., and Nelson, P. K. (1994). Posterior cerebral artery amobarbital injections following anomalous intracarotid injections [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 78.
Perrine, K., Gershenghorn, J., Brown, E. R., Choi, L. S., Luciano, D. J., and Devinsky, O. (1993). Material-specific memory in the intracarotid amobarbital procedure. Neurology 43: 706–711.
Perrine, K., Santschi, C., Doyle, W. K., Pacia, S., and Devinsky, O. (1997). Correlates of discordant Wada memory disparities. Epilepsia 38 (Suppl. 8): 161.
Perrine, K., Sass, K. J., Choi, I. S., Brown, E. R., Luciano, D. J., and Devinsky, O. (1993). Interhemispheric difference scores in IAP memory testing. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 15: 24.
Perrine, K., Westerveld, M., Sass, K. J., Devinsky, O., Dogali, M., Spencer, D. D., Luciano, D. J., and Nelson, P. D. (1995). Wada memory disparities predict seizure laterality and postoperative seizure control. Epilepsia 36: 851–856.
Perrine, K., Yang, W. C., Malhotra, V., Luciano, D., Clayton, B., Rubin, R., and Devinsky, O. (1991). Behavioral and cognitive correlates of arterial filling during the intracarotid sodium amobarbital test [abstract]. Neurology 41 (Suppl. 1): 299.
Petersen, R. C., and Sharbrough, F. W. (1992). Posterior cerebral artery amobarbital test. In Lüders, H. O. (ed.) Epilepsy Surgery, Raven Press, New York, NY, pp. 525–529.
Privitera, M., Morris, G., Barrett, E., Rigrish, D., and Yeh, H. S. (1989). Lateralization of epileptic focus and prediction of memory outcome using the intracarotid Amytal test [Abstract]. Epilepsia 30: 713.
Rausch, R., and Babb, T. L. (1987). Evidence for memory specialization within the mesial temporal lobe in man. In Engel, J., Ojemann, G. A., Lüders, H. O., and Williamson, P. D. (eds.), Fundamental mechanisms of human brain function, Raven Press, New York, NY, pp. 103–109.
Rausch, R., Babb, T. L., and Brown, W. J. (1985). A case of amnestic syndrome following selective amygdalohippocampectomy [Abstract]. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 7: 643.
Rausch, R., Babb, T. L., Engel, J., and Crandall, P. H. (1989). Memory following intracarotid amobarbital injection contralateral to hippocampal damage. Archives of Neurology 46: 783–788.
Rausch, R., Fedio, P., Ary, C. M., Engel, J., and Crandall, P. H. (1984). Resumption of behavior following intracarotid sodium amobarbital injection. Annals of Neurology 15: 31–35.
Rausch, R., and Langfitt, J. T. (1991). Memory evaluation during the intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure. In Lüders, H., (ed.), Epilepsy surgery (pp. 507–514). Raven Press, New York, NY.
Rausch, R., and Risinger, M. (1990). Intracarotid socium amobarbital procedure. In Boulton, A. A., and Baker, G. B. (eds). Neuromethods (Vol. 17), Humana Press, Clifton, NJ, pp. 127–146.
Rausch, R., Silfvenius, H., Wieser, H. G., Dodrill, C. B., Meador, K. J., and Jones-Gotman, M. (1993). Intraarterial amobarbital procedures. In Engel, J. Jr., Surgical treatment of the epilepsies (2nd ed.), Raven Press, New York, NY, pp. 341–357.
Risse, G. L., Gates, J. R., Lin, J. C., Truit, C. L., Hempel, A., Penovich, P. E., Moriarty, G. L., Frost, M. D., and Ritter, F. J. (1998). Cortical language mapping: A comparison of focal areas identified on functional MRI and subdural electrode array. Epilepsia 39 (Suppl. 6): 214–215.
Rosenbaum, T., DeToledo, J., Smith, D. B., Kramer, R. E., Stanulis, R. G., and Kennedy, R. M. (1989). Preoperative assessment of language laterality is necessary in all epilepsy surgery candidates: A case report [Abstract]. Epilepsia 30: 712.
Ryding, E., Sjöholm, H., Skeidsvoll, H., and Elmqvist, D. (1989). Delayed decrease in hemispheric cerebral blood flow during Wada test demonstrated by 99mTc-HMPAO single photon emission computer tomography. Acta Neurology Scandinavica 80: 248–254.
Sass, K. J., Lencz, T., Westerveld, M., Novelly, R. A., Spencer, D. D., and Kim, J. H. (1991). The neural substrate of memory impairment demonstrated by the intracarotid amobarbital procedure. Archives of Neurology 48: 48–52.
Scoville, W. B., and Milner, B. (1957). Loss of recent memory after bilateral hippocampal lesions. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 20: 11–21.
Silfvenius, H., Fagerlund, M., Säisä, J., Olivecrona, M., and Christianson, S.-Å. (1997). Carotid angiography in conjunction with Amytal testing of epilepsy patients. Brain and Cognition 33: 33–49.
Simkins-Bullock, J. A., Lassiter, A. T., Healy, M. A., and Patzik, S. B. (1999). Atypical language dominance in a right temporal lobe epilepsy patient: An IAP case study [Abstract]. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 14: 144.
Smith, I. M., McGlone, J., and Fox, A. J. (1993). Intracarotid amobarbital memory protocol: Muteness, dysphasia, and variations in anterior distribution of the drug do not affect recognition memory. Journal of Epilepsy 6: 75–84.
Snyder, P. J., and Novelly, R. A. (1990). In international survey of the administration and interpretation of the intracarotid Sodium Amytal procedure (IAP) [Abstract]. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 12: 71.
Snyder, P. J., and Novelly, R. A. (1991). An international survey of the administration and interpretation of the ISA procedure. Unpublished manuscript.
Snyder, P. J., Novelly, R. A., and Harris, L. J. (1990). Mixed speech dominance in the intracarotid Sodium Amytal procedure: Validity and criteria issues. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 12: 629–643.
Sperling, M. R., Saykin, A. J., Glosser, G., Moran, M., French, J. A., Brooks, M., and O'Connor, M. J. (1994). Predictors of outcome after anterior temporal lobectomy: The intracarotid amobarbital test. Neurology 44: 2325–2330.
Stanulis, R. G., Valentine, R. V., and DeToledo, D. B. (1990). Intracarotid Sodium Amytal memory testing: Use and misuse of results in surgical decisions [Abstract]. Epilepsia 31: 685.
Stern, C. E., Corkin, S., Gonzalez, R. G., Guimaraes, A. R., Baker, J. R., Jennings, P. J., Carr, C. A., Sugiura, R. M., Vedantham, V., and Rosen, B. (1996). The hippocampal formation participates in novel picture encoding: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 93: 8660–8665.
Trenerry, M. R., Jack, C. R., Ivnik, R. J., Sharbrough, F. W., Cascino, G. D., Hirschorn, K. A., Marsh, W. R., Kelly, P. J., and Meyer, F. B. (1993). MRI hippocampal volumes and memory function before and after temporal lobectomy. Neurology 43: 1800–1805.
Uysal, S., Perrine, K., Haywood, C. S., Luciano, D. J., and Devinsky, O. (1993). Memory for procedural events during the intracarotid amobarbital procedure [Abstract]. Journal of Clinical Neuropsychology 15: 24.
Vermeulen, J., Aldenkamp, A. P., and Alpherts, W. C. J. (1993). Memory complaints in epilepsy: Correlation with cognitive performance and neuroticism. Epilepsy Research 15: 157–170.
Wada, J. A. (1997a). Youthful season revisited. Brain and Cognition 33: 7–10.
Wada, J. A. (1997b). Clinical experimental observations of carotid artery injections of Sodium Amytal. Brain and Cognition 33: 11–13.
Walker, J. A., and Laxer, K. D. (1989a). Comparison of recall and recognition memory in theWada test [Abstract]. Epilepsia 30: 712.
Walker, J. A., and Laxer, K. D. (1989b). Wada test language and memory lateralization in focal and generalized seizure patients [Abstract]. Epilepsia 30: 711.
Weiss, K. L., Figueroa, R. A., and Allison, J. (1998). Functional MR imaging in patients with epilepsy. MRI Clinics of North America 6: 95–112.
Wieser, H. G. (1992). Anterior cerebral artery amobarbital test. In Lüders, H. O. (ed.), Epilepsy surgery, Raven Press, New York, NY, pp. 515–525.
Wieser, H. G., Landis, T., Regard, M., and Schiess, R. (1989). “Selective” and “Superselective” temporal lobe Amytal tests: II. Neuropsychological test procedure and results: Advances in Epileptology 17: 28–33.
Wieser, H. G., Landis, T., and Valavanis, A. (1989). Selective Amytal memory tests: Correlation with postoperative results [Abstract]. Epilepsia 30: 724.
Wieser, H. G., Valavanis, A., Roos, A., Isler, P., and Renella, R. R. (1989). “Selective” and “Superselective” temporal lobe Amytal tests: I. Neuroradiological, neuroanatomical, and electrical data. Advances in Epileptology 17: 20–27.
Wilkinson, S., Eckard, D., Osorio, I., Jackson, S., Troster, A., Overman, J., and Lai, C. W. (1994). Posterior cerebral artery Amytal injections [Abstract]. Epilepsia 35 (Suppl. 8): 74.
Wyllie, E., Naugle, R., Awad, I., Chelune, G., Lüders, H., Dinner, D., Skibinski, C., and Ahl, J. (1991a). Intracarotid amobarbital procedure: I. Prediction of decreased modality-specific memory scores after temporal lobectomy. Epilepsia 32: 857–864.
Wyllie, E., Naugle, R., Chelune, G., Lüders, H., Morris, H., and Skibinski, C. (1991b). Intracarotid amobarbital procedure: II. Lateralizing value in evaluation for temporal lobectomy. Epilepsia 32: 865–869.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Simkins-Bullock, J. Beyond Speech Lateralization: A Review of the Variability, Reliability, and Validity of the Intracarotid Amobarbital Procedure and Its Nonlanguage Uses in Epilepsy Surgery Candidates. Neuropsychol Rev 10, 41–74 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009044630227
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009044630227