Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be able to provide a moderately detailed localization of language functions in the brain. We propose to test the ability of rTMS to locate the substrate of visual naming to a limited area of the temporal lobe in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy before and after surgical resections. The study is expected to yield information on the organization of language in the temporal lobes and how unilateral temporal lobe lesions and lobectomy cause relocation of language mechanisms in the lesioned and in the other hemisphere. It will also be a preliminary step in the development of a clinically useful procedure for locating critical language areas in potential surgical candidates.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be able to provide a moderately detailed localization of language functions in the brain. We propose to test the ability of rTMS to locate the substrate of visual naming to a limited area of the temporal lobe in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy before and after surgical resections. The study is expected to yield information on the organization of language in the temporal lobes and how unilateral temporal lobe lesions and lobectomy cause relocation of language mechanisms in the lesioned and in the other hemisphere. It will also be a preliminary step in the development of a clinically useful procedure for locating critical language areas in potential surgical candidates.

Patients will be drawn from among those referred to the NINDS Epilepsy Research Branch.

No patients with evidence for a progressive neurological disorder.

No subjects with metal hardware in the cranial cavity, cardiac pacemakers, indwelling medication pumps, cochlear implants, intracardiac lines, significant intracranial masses or evidence of increased intracranial pressure.

Women must not be pregnant.