Cognitive pragmatic abilities in individuals with right hemisphere damage: A domain-specific and correlational analysis

Cognitive pragmatics examines the interaction between cognitive processes and pragmatic language use in communication. Pragmatic abilities such as discourse management, figurative language processing, humor comprehension, and narrative organization are cognitively demanding and are frequently compromised following right hemisphere damage (RHD). The present study aimed to evaluate domain-specific cognitive pragmatic abilities in individuals with RHD and to examine interrelationships among these domains. Ten adults with neurologist-confirmed right hemisphere damage (age range: 30–65 years) were assessed using a standardized cognitive pragmatic assessment tool. The tool evaluates pragmatic production and comprehension across six domains: discourse, description, narratives, figurative language I, humor, and figurative language II. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were performed. Results revealed heterogeneous performance across domains, with relative preservation of discourse abilities and marked impairment in humor comprehension. Strong and statistically significant correlations were observed among figurative language and humor domains, indicating shared cognitive–linguistic mechanisms. Narrative and descriptive abilities also demonstrated significant associations with figurative language and humor. These findings highlight the integrative nature of cognitive pragmatics and underscore the disproportionate vulnerability of non-literal language and humor processing in individuals with RHD. The results support the need for comprehensive, domain-specific assessment and targeted intervention strategies in clinical practice.