Brain Mapping of Language Impairments

NIH | MAY 2, 2015

Through language—which includes sounds, gestures, and signs—we communicate our knowledge and beliefs. Million people in the world have some form of language impairment. In aphasia, portions of the brain that are responsible for expressing and understanding language are damaged. Aphasia usually occurs suddenly, often as the result of a stroke or head injury. It may also develop slowly, as in the case of a brain tumor, an infection, or dementia.

A team led by Dr. Daniel Mirman at Drexel University and Dr. Myrna F. Schwartz at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute set out to better understand the basis of language by studying people with aphasia using both neuroimaging and behavioral assessment.

The researchers studied 99 volunteers who had aphasia resulting from a stroke to the left side (hemisphere) of the brain. The participants averaged 58 years of age and used English as their native language.

The scientists identified 2 major divisions in the way the language system is organized, resulting in 4 factors: the meaning versus the form of words, and speech recognition versus production. They next examined high-resolution MRI or CT brain scans of the participants to map the location of their lesions with their symptoms.

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