Can small lesions induce language reorganization as large lesions do?

• Published in: Brain and language Vol. 89; no. 3; pp. 433 - 438
• Main Authors: Maestú, Fernando, Saldaña, Cristobal, Amo, Carlos, González-Hidalgo, Mercedes, Fernandez, Alberto, Fernandez, Santiago, Mata, Pedro, Papanicolaou, Andrew, Ortiz, Tomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01-06-2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Brain Mapping; Brain Neoplasms - complications; Brain Neoplasms - pathology; Brain Neoplasms - surgery; Dominance, Cerebral; Electrocorticography; Electroencephalography - methods; Epilepsy; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe - etiology; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe - pathology; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe - surgery; Expressive Language; Frontal Lobe - physiology; Hemangioma, Cavernous, Central Nervous System - complications; Hemangioma, Cavernous, Central Nervous System - pathology; Hemangioma, Cavernous, Central Nervous System - surgery; Hemispheric dominance shift; Humans; Language; Magnetic source imaging; Magnetoencephalography; Male; Medical sciences; Organic mental disorders. Neuropsychology; Patients; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Receptive Language; Hemispheric dominance shift; Magnetic source imaging; Language; Electrocorticography; Human; Temporal lobe; Frontal lobe; Hemisphere dominance; Plasticity; Cognition; Laterality; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 0093-934X; 1090-2155
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2004.01.002

Shift of the cortical mechanisms of language from the usually dominant left to the non-dominant right hemisphere has been demonstrated in the presence of large brain lesions. Here, we report a similar phenomenon in a patient with a cavernoma over the anterolateral superior temporal gyrus associated with epilepsy. Language mapping was performed by two complementary procedures, magnetoencephalography, and electrocorticography. The maps, indicated right temporal lobe dominance for receptive language and left frontal lobe dominance for expressive language. These results indicate that a small lesion, associated with epilepsy, may produce selective shifting of receptive language mechanisms as large lesions have been known to produce.