FMRI findings in an aphasic patient with reversed cerebral dominance for language.
An 80-year-old right-handed woman with no history of brain damage or familial strain of left-handedness acutely developed aphasia associated with a left hemiparesis following a right hemisphere stroke. Brain MRI showed a posterior insular ischemic infarction extending to the temporo-parietal region of the right hemisphere. Severe overall language disruption (global aphasia) in the acute phase of the stroke rapidly evolved into conduction aphasia, characterized by a neurolinguistic profile of disproportionately severe repetition deficits and markedly distorted phonological skills. In the lesion phase of the stroke, a functional MRI study using a word repetition task was conducted which revealed a consistent pattern of right hemisphere activations. For the first time, right hemisphere language dominance is demonstrated by fMRI in a clear instance of crossed aphasia in a dextral.
Vandervliet
Everhard J M
EJ
University Hospital Antwerp, Department of Radiology, Edegem, Belgium.
Verhoeven
Jo
J
Engelborghs
Sebastiaan
S
De Deyn
Peter Paul
PP
Parizel
Paul M
PM
Mariën
Peter
P
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001037:Aphasia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging