title: Brain plasticity in aphasic patients: intra- and inter-hemispheric reorganisation of the whole linguistic network probed by N150 and N350 components.
abstract: The present study examined linguistic plastic reorganization of language through Evoked Potentials in a group of 17 non-fluent aphasic patients who had suffered left perisylvian focal lesions, and showed a good linguistic recovery. Language reorganisation was probed with three linguistic tasks (Phonological, Semantic, Orthographic), the early word recognition potential (N150) and the later phonological-related component (N350). Results showed the typical left-lateralised posterior N150 in healthy controls (source: left Fusiform Gyrus), that was bilateral (Semantic) or right sided (Phonological task) in patients (sources: right Inferior/Middle Temporal and Fusiform Gyri). As regards N350, controls revealed different intra- and inter-hemispheric linguistic activation across linguistic tasks, whereas patients exhibited greater activity in left intact sites, anterior and posterior to the damaged area, in all tasks (sources: Superior Frontal Gyri). A comprehensive neurofunctional model is presented, describing how complete intra- and inter-hemispheric reorganisation of the linguistic networks occurs after aphasic damage in the strategically dominant left perisylvian linguistic centres.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy [2] Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spironelli
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy [2] Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Padova, Italy [3] CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Angrilli
mesh_terms: D001037:Aphasia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity