scholarly journals Short-term modulation of the lesioned language network

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gesa Hartwigsen ◽  
Anika Stockert ◽  
Louise Charpentier ◽  
Max Wawrzyniak ◽  
Julian Klingbeil ◽  
...  

Language is sustained by large-scale networks in the human brain. Stroke often severely affects function and network dynamics. However, the adaptive potential of the brain to compensate for lesions is poorly understood. A key question is whether upregulation of the right hemisphere is adaptive for language recovery. Targeting the potential for short-term reorganization in the lesioned brain, we applied 'virtual lesions' over left anterior or posterior inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in post-stroke patients with left temporo-parietal lesions prior to functional neuroimaging. Perturbation of the posterior IFG selectively delayed phonological decisions and decreased phonological activity. The individual response delay was correlated with the upregulation of the lesion homologue, likely reflecting compensation. Moreover, stronger individual tract integrity of the right superior longitudinal fascicle was associated with lesser disruption. Our results provide evidence for functional and structural underpinnings of plasticity in the lesioned language network, and a compensatory role of the right hemisphere.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meytal Wilf ◽  
Celine Dupuis ◽  
Davide Nardo ◽  
Diana Huber ◽  
Sibilla Sander ◽  
...  

Our everyday life summons numerous novel sensorimotor experiences, to which our brain needs to adapt in order to function properly. However, tracking plasticity of naturalistic behaviour and associated brain modulations is challenging. Here we tackled this question implementing a prism adaptation training in virtual reality (VRPA) in combination with functional neuroimaging. Three groups of healthy participants (N=45) underwent VRPA (with a spatial shift either to the left/right side, or with no shift), and performed fMRI sessions before and after training. To capture modulations in free-flowing, task-free brain activity, the fMRI sessions included resting state and free viewing of naturalistic videos. We found significant decreases in spontaneous functional connectivity between large-scale cortical networks, namely attentional and default mode/fronto-parietal networks, only for adaptation groups. Additionally, VRPA was found to bias visual representations of naturalistic videos, as following rightward adaptation, we found upregulation of visual response in an area in the parieto-occipital sulcus (POS) in the right hemisphere. Notably, the extent of POS upregulation correlated with the size of the VRPA induced after-effect measured in behavioural tests. This study demonstrates that a brief VRPA exposure is able to change large-scale cortical connectivity and correspondingly bias the representation of naturalistic sensory inputs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Stefaniak ◽  
Reem S. W. Alyahya ◽  
Matthew A. Lambon Ralph

AbstractAphasia recovery post-stroke is classically and most commonly hypothesised to rely on regions that were not involved in language premorbidly, through ‘neurocomputational invasion’ or engagement of ‘quiescent homologues’. Contemporary accounts have suggested, instead, that recovery might be supported by under-utilised areas of the premorbid language network, which are downregulated in health to save neural resources (‘variable neurodisplacement’). Despite the importance of understanding the neural bases of language recovery clinically and theoretically, there is no consensus as to which specific regions are activated more consistently in post-stroke aphasia (PSA) than healthy individuals. Accordingly, we performed an Activation Likelihood Estimation analysis of language functional neuroimaging studies in PSA and linked control data. We obtained coordinate-based functional neuroimaging data for 481 individuals with aphasia following left hemisphere stroke (one third of which was previously unpublished) and for 530 healthy controls. Instead of the language network expanding by activating novel right hemisphere regions ‘de novo’ post-stroke, as would be predicted by neurocomputational invasion/quiescent homologue engagement mechanisms of recovery, we found that multiple regions throughout both hemispheres were consistently activated during language tasks in PSA and controls. Multiple undamaged regions were less consistently activated in PSA than controls, including domain-general regions of medial superior frontal cortex and right fronto-temporal cortex. In the reverse direction, the right anterior insula and inferior frontal gyrus were more consistently activated in PSA than controls, particularly for executively-demanding comprehension tasks. These regions overlap with control networks known to be recruited during difficult tasks in healthy individuals and were more consistently activated by patients during higher than lower demand tasks in this meta-analysis. Overall, these findings run counter to neurocomputational invasion of the language network into new territory or engagement of quiescent homologues. Instead, many parts of the pre-existing language network are less consistently activated in PSA, except for more consistent use of spare capacity within right hemisphere executive-control related regions (cf. variable neurodisplacement). This study provides novel insights into the language network changes that occur post-stroke. Such knowledge is essential if we are to design neurobiologically-informed therapeutic interventions to facilitate language recovery.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 354
Author(s):  
Kyoung Lee ◽  
Sang Yoo ◽  
Eun Ji ◽  
Woo Hwang ◽  
Yeun Yoo ◽  
...  

Lateropulsion (pusher syndrome) is an important barrier to standing and gait after stroke. Although several studies have attempted to elucidate the relationship between brain lesions and lateropulsion, the effects of specific brain lesions on the development of lateropulsion remain unclear. Thus, the present study investigated the effects of stroke lesion location and size on lateropulsion in right hemisphere stroke patients. The present retrospective cross-sectional observational study assessed 50 right hemisphere stroke patients. Lateropulsion was diagnosed and evaluated using the Scale for Contraversive Pushing (SCP). Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) analysis with 3T-MRI was used to identify the culprit lesion for SCP. We also performed VLSM controlling for lesion volume as a nuisance covariate, in a multivariate model that also controlled for other factors contributing to pusher behavior. VLSM, combined with statistical non-parametric mapping (SnPM), identified the specific region with SCP. Lesion size was associated with lateropulsion. The precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, insula and subgyral parietal lobe of the right hemisphere seemed to be associated with the lateropulsion; however, after adjusting for lesion volume as a nuisance covariate, no lesion areas were associated with the SCP scores. The size of the right hemisphere lesion was the only factor most strongly associated with lateropulsion in patients with stroke. These results may be useful for planning rehabilitation strategies of restoring vertical posture and understanding the pathophysiology of lateropulsion in stroke patients.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Boukrina ◽  
Mateusz Kowalczyk ◽  
Yury Koush ◽  
Yekyung Kong ◽  
A.M. Barrett

Background and Purpose: Delirium, an acute reduction in cognitive functioning, hinders stroke recovery and contributes to cognitive decline. Right-hemisphere stroke is linked with higher delirium incidence, likely, due to the prevalence of spatial neglect (SN), a right-brain disorder of spatial processing. This study tested if symptoms of delirium and SN after right-hemisphere stroke are associated with abnormal function of the right-dominant neural networks specialized for maintaining attention, orientation, and arousal. Methods: Twenty-nine participants with right-hemisphere ischemic stroke undergoing acute rehabilitation completed delirium and SN assessments and functional neuroimaging scans. Whole-brain functional connectivity of 4 right-hemisphere seed regions in the cortical-subcortical arousal and attention networks was assessed for its relationship to validated SN and delirium severity measures. Results: Of 29 patients, 6 (21%) met the diagnostic criteria for delirium and 16 (55%) for SN. Decreased connectivity of the right basal forebrain to brain stem and basal ganglia predicted more severe SN. Increased connectivity of the arousal and attention network regions with the parietal, frontal, and temporal structures in the unaffected hemisphere was also found in more severe delirium and SN. Conclusions: Delirium and SN are associated with decreased arousal network activity and an imbalance of cortico-subcortical hemispheric connectivity. Better understanding of neural correlates of poststroke delirium and SN will lead to improved neuroscience-based treatment development for these disorders.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Ian A. Quillen ◽  
Melodie Yen ◽  
Stephen M. Wilson

In this study, we investigated how the brain responds to task difficulty in linguistic and non-linguistic contexts. This is important for the interpretation of functional imaging studies of neuroplasticity in post-stroke aphasia, because of the inherent difficulty of matching or controlling task difficulty in studies with neurological populations. Twenty neurologically normal individuals were scanned with fMRI as they performed a linguistic task and a non-linguistic task, each of which had two levels of difficulty. Critically, the tasks were matched across domains (linguistic, non-linguistic) for accuracy and reaction time, such that the differences between the easy and difficult conditions were equivalent across domains. We found that non-linguistic demand modulated the same set of multiple demand (MD) regions that have been identified in many prior studies. In contrast, linguistic demand modulated MD regions to a much lesser extent, especially nodes belonging to the dorsal attention network. Linguistic demand modulated a subset of language regions, with the left inferior frontal gyrus most strongly modulated. The right hemisphere region homotopic to Broca’s area was also modulated by linguistic but not non-linguistic demand. When linguistic demand was mapped relative to non-linguistic demand, we also observed domain by difficulty interactions in temporal language regions as well as a widespread bilateral semantic network. In sum, linguistic and non-linguistic demand have strikingly different neural correlates. These findings can be used to better interpret studies of patients recovering from aphasia. Some reported activations in these studies may reflect task performance differences, while others can be more confidently attributed to neuroplasticity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Oswald ◽  
Younes Zerouali ◽  
Aubrée Boulet-Craig ◽  
Maja Krajinovic ◽  
Caroline Laverdière ◽  
...  

Abstract Verbal fluency (VF) is a heterogeneous test that requires executive functions as well as language abilities. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the specificity of the resting state MEG correlates of the executive and language components. To this end, we administered a VFtest, another verbal test (Vocabulary), and another executive test (Trail Making Test), and we recorded 5-min eyes-open resting-state MEG data in 28 healthy participants. We used source-reconstructed spectral power estimates to compute correlation/anticorrelation MEG clusters with the performance at each test, as well as with the advantage in performance between tests, across individuals using cluster-level statisticsin the standard frequency bands. By obtaining conjunction clusters between verbal fluency scores and factor loading obtained for verbal fluency and each of the two other tests, we showed a core of slow clusters (delta to beta) localized in the right hemisphere, in adjacent parts of the premotor, pre-central and post-central cortex in the mid-lateral regions related to executive monitoring. We also found slow parietal clusters bilaterally and a cluster in the gamma 2 and 3 bandsin the left inferior frontal gyrus likely associated with phonological processinginvolved in verbal fluency.


2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1425-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. OVERMEYER ◽  
E. T. BULLMORE ◽  
J. SUCKLING ◽  
A. SIMMONS ◽  
S. C. R. WILLIAMS ◽  
...  

Background. Previous neuroimaging studies of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have demonstrated anatomic and functional abnormalities predominantly in frontal and striatal grey matter. Here we report the use of novel image analysis methods, which do not require prior selection of regions of interest, to characterize distributed morphological deficits of both grey and white matter associated with ADHD.Methods. Eighteen children with a refined phenotype of ADHD, who also met ICD-10 criteria for hyperkinetic disorder (mean age 10·4 years), and 16 normal children (mean age 10·3 years) were compared using magnetic resonance imaging. The groups were matched for handedness, sex, height, weight and head circumference. Morphological differences between groups were estimated by fitting a linear model at each voxel in standard space, applying a threshold to the resulting voxel statistic maps to generate clusters of spatially contiguous suprathreshold voxels, and testing cluster ‘mass’, or the sum of suprathreshold voxel statistics in each 2D cluster, by repeated random resampling of the data.Results. The hyperkinetic children had significant grey matter deficits in right superior frontal gyrus (Brodmann area (BA) 8/9), right posterior cingulate gyrus (BA 30) and the basal ganglia bilaterally (especially right globus pallidus and putamen). They also demonstrated significant central white matter deficits in the left hemisphere anterior to the pyramidal tracts and superior to the basal ganglia.Conclusions. This pattern of spatially distributed grey matter deficit in the right hemisphere is compatible with the hypothesis that ADHD is associated with disruption of a large scale neurocognitive network for attention. The left hemispheric white matter deficits may be due to dysmyelination.


2007 ◽  
Vol 362 (1481) ◽  
pp. 917-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.W Robbins

The neuropsychological basis of attentional set-shifting, task-set switching and stop-signal inhibition is reviewed through comparative studies of humans and experimental animals. Using human functional neuroimaging, plus neuropsychological investigation of patients with frontal damage quantified by structural magnetic resonance imaging, and through parallels with effects of specific lesions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum in rats and marmosets, it is possible to define both distinct and overlapping loci for tasks such as extra-dimensional shifting and reversal learning, stop-signal reaction time and task-set switching. Notably, most of the paradigms implicate a locus in the right PFC, specifically the right inferior frontal gyrus, possibly associated with processes of response inhibition. The neurochemical modulation of fronto-striatal circuitry in parallel with effects on task performance has been investigated using specific neuropharmacological agents in animals and by human psychopharmacological investigations, sometimes in conjunction with functional imaging. Evidence is provided for double dissociations of effects of manipulations of prefrontal cortical catecholamine and indoleamine (5-HT) systems that have considerable implications in the treatment of disorders such as Parkinson's disease, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression, as well as in theoretical notions of how ‘fronto-executive’ functions are subject to state-dependent influences, probably related to stress, arousal and motivation.


1971 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth K. Warrington ◽  
P. Rabin

The visual span of apprehension for random letter and digit sequences, approximations to English sequences and non-symbolic line stimuli was measured in patients with unilateral cerebral lesions. The left hemisphere group was significantly impaired relative to the right hemisphere group and a control group on all three types of visual span task. The deficit was most marked in patients with left posterior lesions. The visual span deficits were not related to other language deficits. The findings are discussed in terms of a modality-specific defect of visual short-term memory.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi Li ◽  
Hongpei Xu ◽  
Shengfu Lu

Background. In the past, studies on the lateralization of the left and right hemispheres of the brain suggested that depression is dominated by the right hemisphere of the brain, but the neural basis of this theory remains unclear. Method. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed in 22 depressive patients and 15 healthy controls. The differences in the mean values of the regional homogeneity (ReHo) of two groups were compared, and the low-frequency amplitudes of these differential brain regions were compared. Results. The results show that compared with healthy subjects, depressive patients had increased ReHo values in the right superior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, triangular part of the right inferior frontal gyrus, orbital part of the right inferior frontal gyrus, right superior occipital gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, bilateral anterior cingulate, and paracingulate gyri; reduced ReHo values were seen in the right fusiform gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, left lingual gyrus, and left inferior parietal except in the supramarginal and angular gyri. Conclusions. The results show that regional homogeneity mainly occurs in the right brain, and the overall performance of the brain is such that right hemisphere synchronization is enhanced while left hemisphere synchronization is weakened. ReHo abnormalities in the resting state can predict abnormalities in individual neurological activities that reflect changes in the structure and function of the brain; abnormalities shown with this indicator are the neuronal basis for the phenomenon that the right hemisphere of the brain has a dominant effect on depression.


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