title: Success of Anomia Treatment in Aphasia Is Associated With Preserved Architecture of Global and Left Temporal Lobe Structural Networks.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Targeted speech therapy can lead to substantial naming improvement in some subjects with anomia following dominant-hemisphere stroke. We investigated whether treatment-induced improvement in naming is associated with poststroke preservation of structural neural network architecture.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four patients with poststroke chronic aphasia underwent 30 hours of speech therapy over a 2-week period and were assessed at baseline and after therapy. Whole brain maps of neural architecture were constructed from pretreatment diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging to derive measures of global brain network architecture (network small-worldness) and regional network influence (nodal betweenness centrality). Their relationship with naming recovery was evaluated with multiple linear regressions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment-induced improvement in correct naming was associated with poststroke preservation of global network small worldness and of betweenness centrality in temporal lobe cortical regions. Together with baseline aphasia severity, these measures explained 78% of the variability in treatment response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preservation of global and left temporal structural connectivity broadly explains the variability in treatment-related naming improvement in aphasia. These findings corroborate and expand on previous classical lesion-symptom mapping studies by elucidating some of the mechanisms by which brain damage may relate to treated aphasia recovery. Favorable naming outcomes may result from the intact connections between spared cortical areas that are functionally responsive to treatment.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA bonilha@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonilha
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gleichgerrcht
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Travis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nesland
authors.affiliation: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rorden
authors.affiliation: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Julius
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fridriksson
mesh_terms: D000849:Anomia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001037:Aphasia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D063132:Connectome; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013070:Speech Therapy; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: aphasia; diffusion tensor imaging; magnetic resonance imaging; naming; recovery; structural connectome