fMRI shows atypical language lateralization in pediatric epilepsy patients.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to compare language lateralization between pediatric epilepsy patients and healthy children.


METHODS
Two groups of subjects were evaluated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) by using a silent verb-generation task. The first group included 18 pediatric epilepsy patients, whereas the control group consisted of 18 age/gender/handedness-matched healthy subjects.


RESULTS
A significant difference in hemispheric lateralization index (LI) was found between children with epilepsy (mean LI =-0.038) and the age/gender/handedness-matched healthy control subjects (mean LI=0.257; t=6.490, p<0.0001). A dramatic difference also was observed in the percentage of children with epilepsy (77.78%) who had atypical LI (right-hemispheric or bilateral, LI<0.1) when compared with the age/gender/handedness-matched group (11.11%; chi(2)=16.02, p<0.001). A linear regression analysis showed a trend toward increasing language lateralization with age in healthy controls (R(2)=0.152; p=0.108). This association was not observed in pediatric epilepsy subjects (R(2)=0.004, p=0.80). A significant association between language LI and epilepsy duration also was found (R(2)=0.234, p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that epilepsy during childhood is associated with neuroplasticity and reorganization of language function.
Yuan
Weihong
W
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Imaging Research Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA. weihong.yuan@cchme
Szaflarski
Jerzy P
JP
Schmithorst
Vincent J
VJ
Schapiro
Mark
M
Byars
Anna W
AW
Strawsburg
Richard H
RH
Holland
Scott K
SK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology