Hugdahl Kenneth, Gundersen Hilde, Brekke Cecilie, Thomsen Tormod, Rimol Lars Morten, Ersland Lars, Niemi Jussi
Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2004 Feb;47(1):162-72. doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2004/014).
The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in brain activation in a family with SLI as compared to intact individuals with normally developed language during processing of language stimuli. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor changes in neuronal activation in temporal and frontal lobe areas in 5 Finnish family members with specific language impairment (SLI) and 6 individuals in an intact control group. Magnetic resonance (MR) image acquisitions were made while the participants listened to series of isolated vowel sounds, pseudowords, and real words. The stimuli were digitized single Finnish vowel sounds, 3-phoneme pseudowords, and 3- and 4-phoneme real words. MR scanning was made with a 1.5 T Siemens Vision Plus scanner, and the auditory stimuli were presented according to an event-related fMRI design. The results showed significant differences between the family with SLI and the intact control group with regard to brain activation in areas in the temporal and frontal lobes. Temporal lobe activation differences were most pronounced in the middle temporal gyrus bordering the superior temporal sulcus. The control participants also activated an area in the inferior frontal lobe in BA 44. It is concluded that individuals with SLI showed reduced activation in brain areas that are critical for speech processing and phonological awareness. The present functional brain imaging data fit well with other recent imaging data that also showed structural abnormalities in the same and neighboring areas.
本研究的目的是调查与语言发育正常的健全个体相比，患有特定语言障碍（SLI）的家族成员在处理语言刺激时大脑激活的差异。功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）被用于监测5名患有特定语言障碍（SLI）的芬兰家族成员以及6名健全对照组个体的颞叶和额叶区域神经元激活的变化。在参与者听一系列孤立元音、假词和实词时进行磁共振（MR）图像采集。刺激物为数字化的单个芬兰元音、3音素假词以及3音素和4音素实词。使用1.5T西门子Vision Plus扫描仪进行MR扫描，并根据事件相关fMRI设计呈现听觉刺激。结果显示，患有SLI的家族与健全对照组在颞叶和额叶区域的大脑激活方面存在显著差异。颞叶激活差异在与颞上沟相邻的颞中回最为明显。对照组参与者还激活了BA 44区的额下回区域。研究得出结论，患有SLI的个体在对语音处理和语音意识至关重要的脑区表现出激活减少。目前的功能性脑成像数据与其他近期成像数据相符，这些数据也显示了相同及相邻区域的结构异常。
