Abstract
ABSTRACT Primary Objective We hypothesized that, in patients with acute severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) who recover basic language function, speech-evoked blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) responses within the canonical language network increase over the first 6 months post-injury. Research Design We conducted a prospective, longitudinal fMRI pilot study of adults with acute severe TBI admitted to the intensive care unit. We also enrolled age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Methods and Procedures We evaluated BOLD signal in bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) regions of interest acutely and approximately 6 months post-injury. Given evidence that regions outside the canonical language network contribute to language processing, we also performed exploratory whole-brain analyses. Main Outcomes and Results Of the 16 patients enrolled, eight returned for follow-up fMRI, all of whom recovered basic language function. We observed speech-evoked longitudinal BOLD increases in the left STG, but not in the right STG, right IFG, or left IFG. Whole-brain analysis revealed increases in the right supramarginal and middle temporal gyri but no differences between patients and healthy subjects (n = 16). Conclusion This pilot study suggests that, in patients with severe TBI who recover language function, speech-evoked responses in bihemispheric language-processing cortex reemerge by 6 months post-injury.
Accepted Version
Published Version
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