title: Near-infrared spectroscopy as an alternative to the Wada test for language mapping in children, adults and special populations.
abstract: The intracarotid amobarbital test (IAT) is the most widely used procedure for pre-surgical evaluation of language lateralization in epileptic patients. However, apart from being invasive, this technique is not applicable in young children or patients who present mental retardation and/or language deficits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is increasingly employed as a non-invasive alternative. Again, this method is more difficult to use with young children, especially hyperactive ones, since they have to remain motionless during data acquisition. The aim of this study was to determine whether near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used as an alternative technique to investigate language lateralization in children and special populations. Unlike Wada test, NIRS is non-invasive, and it is more tolerant to movement artefacts than fMRI. In the present study, NIRS data were acquired in four epileptic children, a 12-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder and a 3-year-old, healthy child, as well as three healthy and two epileptic adults, while they performed a verbal fluency task and a control task. When applicable, the results were compared to the subjects' fMRI and/or IAT findings. Clear laterality of speech was obtained in all participants, including the two non-epileptic children, and NIRS results matched fMRI and IAT findings. These results, if replicable in larger samples, are encouraging and suggest that NIRS has the potential to become a viable, non-invasive alternative to IAT and fMRI in the determination of speech lateralization in children and clinical populations that cannot be submitted to more invasive techniques.
authors: Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Qc, Canada.
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Gallagher
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Thériault
authors: Ed
authors: E
authors: Maclin
authors: Kathy
authors: K
authors: Low
authors: Gabriele
authors: G
authors: Gratton
authors: Monica
authors: M
authors: Fabiani
authors: Louise
authors: L
authors: Gagnon
authors: Katja
authors: K
authors: Valois
authors: Isabelle
authors: I
authors: Rouleau
authors: Hannelore C
authors: HC
authors: Sauerwein
authors: Lionel
authors: L
authors: Carmant
authors: Dang K
authors: DK
authors: Nguyen
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Lortie
authors: Franco
authors: F
authors: Lepore
authors: Renée
authors: R
authors: Béland
authors: Maryse
authors: M
authors: Lassonde
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000654:Amobarbital / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002339:Carotid Arteries; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D018757:GABA Modulators / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007269:Injections, Intra-Arterial; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010092:Oximetry; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D014705:Verbal Behavior
chemical_list: D018757:GABA Modulators; D000654:Amobarbital