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Hemispheric asymmetry of the arcuate fasciculus

A preliminary diffusion tensor tractography study in patients with unilateral language dominance defined by Wada test

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Abstract

Objective

Lateralization of language function is a prominent feature of human brain function, and its underlying structural asymmetry has been recently reported in normal right-handed subjects. By means of diffusion tensor tractography (DTT), we investigated the asymmetry of the language network, namely, the arcuate fasciculus in patients in whom the unilateral language dominance was defined by Wada test.

Methods

DTT was performed in 24 patients with a focal lesion or an epileptic focus outside the C-shaped segment of the arcuate fasciculus. The arcuate fasciculus was reconstructed by placing two regions-of-interest in the deep white matter lateral to the corona radiata. The pathway was then divided into one terminating in the temporal lobe (FT tract) and the other in the parietal lobe (FP tract). The relative number and volume of the FT and FP tracts in each hemisphere were submitted to repeated measure ANOVA separately, with the hemisphere as a within-subject factor and with the side of pathology as a betweensubject factor.

Results

The FT tract showed a significantly larger number and volume in the language dominant hemisphere than in the non-dominant hemisphere, while, for the FP tract, no significant hemispheric difference was observed in the relative number or volume. There was a tendency that the FT tract was less lateralized when the pathology was located in the dominant hemisphere than in the non-dominant hemisphere.

Conclusion

Dominance of the FT tract in the language dominant hemisphere was demonstrated for the first time in a patient population and implicated a clinical utility of DTT for non-invasive evaluation of language lateralization. Our preliminary study might indicate reorganization of the language network in conjunction with pathology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Kawaharacho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    R. Matsumoto MD, PhD, T. Mitsueda-Ono MD, R. Takahashi MD, PhD & A. Ikeda MD, PhD

  2. Dept. of Neurosurgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    N. Mikuni MD, PhD, J. Taki MD & N. Hashimoto MD, PhD

  3. Dept. of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    T. Okada MD, PhD & Y. Miki MD, PhD

  4. Dept. of Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    J. Taki MD, N. Sawamoto MD, PhD & H. Fukuyama MD, PhD

  5. Kansai Regional Epilepsy Center, National Hospital Organization, Utano National Hospital, Kyoto, Japan

    R. Matsumoto MD, PhD

  6. National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Japan

    T. Hanakawa MD, PhD

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  1. R. Matsumoto MD, PhD
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  2. T. Okada MD, PhD
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  8. Y. Miki MD, PhD
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  9. N. Hashimoto MD, PhD
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Correspondence to R. Matsumoto MD, PhD.

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Matsumoto, R., Okada, T., Mikuni, N. et al. Hemispheric asymmetry of the arcuate fasciculus. J Neurol 255, 1703–1711 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-008-0005-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-008-0005-9

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