Wada Test
The Wada test is a procedure used to determine which side of the brain is responsible for speech and memory. The test is performed prior to certain brain tumor surgeries and epilepsy surgery to evaluate the best way to proceed, such as the need for
an awake craniotomy.
The test is conducted with the patient awake, while sodium amobarbital is injected into arteries on one side of the brain. The drug temporarily shuts down the language and memory function of that hemisphere of the brain so that the other half of the brain can be evaluated. A series of speech and memory related tests are performed, and then the procedure is reversed.