Right hemisphere damage is most commonly caused by which of the following?

• A. Direct injury to the frontal lobe only
• B. Right hemisphere stroke or other acquired brain injury that impacts the right hemisphere
• C. Injury to the left hemisphere
• D. Damage to brainstem only

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that damage to the right hemisphere comes from injuries that affect the right side of the brain itself. The most common scenario is a stroke or another acquired brain injury that directly impacts the right hemisphere. When the tissue on the right side is damaged, you get the patterns associated with right-hemisphere injury. In contrast, injuring the left hemisphere would produce left-hemisphere deficits, not right-hemisphere damage, and damage confined to the brainstem typically causes a broader mix of problems that aren’t localized to one cerebral hemisphere. So the best description is a right-hemisphere stroke or other acquired injury that damages the right hemisphere.