A functional MRI study of language networks in left medial temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the abnormality of language networks in left medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) using fMRI. Materials and methods Eight patients with left MTLE and 15 healthy subjects were evaluated. An auditory semantic judgment (AJ) paradigm was used. The fMRI data were collected on a 3T MR system and analyzed by AFNI (analysis of functional neuroimages) to generate the activation map. Results Behavioral data showed that the reaction time of the left MTLE patients was significantly longer than that of controls on the AJ task ( t = −3.396, P < 0.05). The left MTLE patients also exhibited diffusively decreased activation in the AJ task. Right hemisphere dominance of Broca's and Wernicke's areas was demonstrated in left MTLE patients. Conclusions Long-term activation of spikes in left MTLE patients results in language impairment, which is associated with an abnormality of the brain neural network.