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. 2008 Mar;29(3):483-7.
doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A0846. Epub 2007 Nov 26.

Language dysfunction after stroke and damage to white matter tracts evaluated using diffusion tensor imaging

J I Breier  1 , K M Hasan, W Zhang, D Men, A C Papanicolaou
Affiliations

Language dysfunction after stroke and damage to white matter tracts evaluated using diffusion tensor imaging

J I Breier et al. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2008 Mar.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Knowledge of the anatomic basis of aphasia after stroke has both theoretic and clinical implications by informing models of cortical connectivity and providing data for diagnosis and prognosis. In this study we use diffusion tensor imaging to address the relationship between damage to specific white matter tracts and linguistic deficits after left hemisphere stroke.

Materials and methods: Twenty patients aged 38-77 years with a history of stroke in the left hemisphere underwent diffusion tensor imaging, structural MR imaging, and language testing. All of the patients were premorbidly right handed and underwent imaging and language testing at least 1 month after stroke.

Results: Lower fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the superior longitudinal and arcuate fasciculi of the left hemisphere, an indication of greater damage to these tracts, were correlated with decreased ability to repeat spoken language. Comprehension deficits after stroke were associated with lower FA values in the arcuate fasciculus of the left hemisphere. The findings for repetition were independent of MR imaging ratings of the degree of damage to cortical areas of the left hemisphere involved in language function. There were no findings for homotopic tracts in the right hemisphere.

Conclusion: This study provides support for a specific role for damage to the superior longitudinal and arcuate fasciculi in the left hemisphere in patients with deficits in repetition of speech in aphasia after stroke.

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Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Examples of the 3D visualization for the (A) UF, (B) SLF, and (C) AF. The meeting of the crosshairs in each section represents the point chosen visually as having the greatest intensity of representation for that region in all 3 of the planes. A 12-voxel ROI was then placed around this point in the sagittal plane for all of the structures (see examples).
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Plot of the WAB repetition AQ score as a function of the fractional anisotropy (FA) index for the AF. A more negative FA score indicates more damage to the tract, and a more negative WAB score indicates poorer repetition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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