WADA test
Pronunciation: WAH-da
Invasive procedure using intracarotid anesthetic injection to assess language and memory lateralization before epilepsy surgery.
Full Definition
The WADA test, named after neurologist Juhn Wada, is an invasive neuropsychological assessment procedure performed before epilepsy surgery to determine which brain hemisphere is dominant for language and memory functions. During the test, sodium amobarbital or propofol is injected into one carotid artery at a time, temporarily anesthetizing that hemisphere while neuropsychological testing is conducted. The procedure helps surgical teams predict the risk of language or memory deficits following temporal lobe resection. While increasingly replaced by functional MRI, the WADA test remains the gold standard for presurgical cognitive assessment in many epilepsy centers.
Usage
Usage note: Always capitalized; named after Juhn Wada; sometimes abbreviated as IAT.
In Context
- "The WADA test confirmed left hemisphere language dominance before temporal lobectomy." — Pre-surgical evaluation
- "WADA testing revealed adequate memory function in the contralateral hippocampus." — Surgical planning report