The pattern of deficits in RHD patients differs dramatically
from those evidenced by LHD patients whose communicative
difficulties are seemingly more severe. In order
to compare the performance of LHD and RHD patients on
joke comprehension, Bihrle and colleagues used both verbal
and nonverbal materials (Bihrle et al., 1986). In addition to
jokes of the sort used by Brownell and colleagues (Brownell
et al., 1983), these investigators also used four-frame cartoons
with the same narrative structure. Whether patients
received verbal or nonverbal materials, they were asked to
pick the punch-line (or punch frame) from an array of four
choices: a straightforward ending, a neutral non-sequitur, a
humorous non-sequitur, or the correct punch-line.