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Language cortex activation in normal children

Version 2 2024-06-05, 05:14
Version 1 2019-08-07, 08:51
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-05, 05:14 authored by Amanda WoodAmanda Wood, AS Harvey, RM Wellard, DF Abbott, V Anderson, M Kean, MM Saling, GD Jackson
Objective: To describe a protocol for use in young children and adolescents for determining language representation. Methods: We performed 130 fMRI studies in 48 children and 17 adults. Verb generation (VG) and orthographic lexical retrieval (OLR) were used. The localization and lateralization of activation was rated visually. Regional voxel counts measured asymmetry and extent of activation. Results: Activation was predominantly left-lateralized (children 85%, adults 94%), and there was no difference in the localization of activation for either paradigm. Children's typical sites of activation included mesial (96%), inferior (94%) and middle frontal (92%) gyri, the inferior (85%) and superior (65%) temporal cortex, and the cerebellum (67%). Less frequently activated sites were insular (50%) and posterior parietal (48%) cortices. Quantitative asymmetry index scores and visual inspection of laterality were concordant. Greater quantitative asymmetry for VG than OLR occurred in children. Laterality was not related to age, sex, task proficiency, or handedness. Frontal region voxel counts lower in children than adults and left sided counts correlated with task proficiency. Conclusions: Language fMRI can be performed in young children using resources available to clinical centers. The similarity in frequency of left language lateralization between children and adults suggests that language representation establishes early in development. The reduced amount of frontal region of interest activation in task-specific regions in children may reflect different levels of ability. However, the left-right distribution of activation does not appear to depend on task performance or age. These normative data provide a basis for decisions about language laterality in pedatric patients.

History

Journal

Neurology

Volume

63

Pagination

1035-1044

Location

Minneapolis, Minn.

ISSN

0028-3878

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

6

Publisher

American Academy of Neurology

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