<P> Age: Younger patients typically recover faster than older patients, especially with regards to prosopagnosia (difficulty recognizing faces) </P> <P> Size of lesion: Patients with smaller lesions typically recover faster from neglect and hemiparesis (unilateral body weakness) than patients with larger lesions (Hier et al., 1983). </P> <P> For the majority of the nineteenth century, the left brain hemisphere was the key focus of clinical research on language disorders (Brookshire, 2007). In the twentieth century, focus gradually shifted to include right hemisphere damage (Brookshire, 2007). It is now well established that language and cognition can be seriously impaired by unilateral right hemisphere brain damage . Specific cognitive tests can help diagnose the existence of right hemisphere brain damage and differentiate symptoms from those of left hemisphere damage . Unlike the aphasias, caused by left hemisphere damage and generally resulting in focused language deficits, right hemisphere brain damage can result in a variety of diffuse deficits which complicate formal testing of this disorder (Brookshire, 2007). These formal tests assess areas such as understanding humor, metaphors, sarcasm, facial expression, and prosody . However, not all individuals with right hemisphere brain damage have problems in language or communication and some may have no discernible symptoms . Indeed, about half of patients with right hemisphere damage have intact communication abilities (Brookshire, 2007). </P>

Damage to this part of the brain can result in reduced ability to comprehend and/or produce humor