Language impairment from a stroke is most likely after a lesion in which hemisphere?

• A. Right hemisphere injury
• B. Left hemisphere injury
• C. Occipital lobe injury
• D. Cerebellar injury

Answer: (B)

Language functions are typically localized in the left hemisphere for most people. A stroke damaging the left hemisphere often leads to aphasia, which is trouble with speaking, understanding, reading, or writing because key language centers (like Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas) are affected. The right hemisphere chiefly handles aspects of communication such as tone and pragmatics, so injury there less commonly causes core language impairment. Occipital lobe damage affects vision, and cerebellar injury affects coordination and balance, not primary language. While a minority of individuals—often left-handed—may have language dominance in the right hemisphere, the left-hemisphere lesion remains the most likely cause of language impairment after a stroke.