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Neuropediatrics 2006; 37(1): 46-52
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-923934
Short Communication

Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveals Atypical Language Organization in Children Following Perinatal Left Middle Cerebral Artery Stroke[1]

L. M. Jacola1 , M. B. Schapiro1 , V. J. Schmithorst2 , 3 , A. W. Byars1 , R. H. Strawsburg1 , J. P. Szaflarski4 , E. Plante5 , S. K. Holland2 , 3
  • 1Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U. S. A.
  • 2Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U. S. A.
  • 3Imaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio, U. S. A.
  • 4Department of Neurology and Center for Imaging Research, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U. S. A.
  • 5Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, Tuscon, Arizona, U. S. A.
Further Information

Publication History

Received: July 6, 2005

Accepted after Revision: December 5, 2005

Publication Date:
15 March 2006 (online)

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Abstract

We used verb generation and story listening tasks during fMRI to study language organization in children (7, 9 and 12 years old) with perinatal left MCA infarctions. Healthy, age-matched comparison children (n = 39) showed activation in left Broca's area during the verb generation task; in contrast, stroke subjects showed activation either bilaterally or in the right hemisphere homologue during both tasks. In Wernicke's area, comparison subjects showed left lateralization (verb generation) and bilateral activation (L > R) (story listening). Stroke subjects instead showed bilateral or right lateralization (verb generation) and bilateral activation (R > L) (story listening). Language is distributed atypically in children with perinatal left hemisphere stroke.

Key words

fMRI - language - stroke - reorganization - plasticity

1 History: An abstract of this work was presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Child Neurology Society, held on October 1 - 4, 2003, in Miami Beach, FL.

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1 History: An abstract of this work was presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Child Neurology Society, held on October 1 - 4, 2003, in Miami Beach, FL.

Lisa M. Jacola

Division of Neurology
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

3333 Burnet Avenue

Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039

USA

Phone: + 15136369669

Fax: + 15 136 36 18 88

Email: lisa.jacola@cchmc.org

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