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ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate variations in cortical activation in early and late Uygur-Chinese bilinguals from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Methodology: During a semantic judgment task with visual stimulation by a single Chinese or Uygur word, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed. The fMRI data regarding activated cortical areas and volumes by both languages were analyzed.ResultsThe first language (L1) and second language (L2) activated language-related hemispheric regions, including the left inferior frontal and parietal cortices, and L1 specifically activated the left middle temporal gyrus. For both L1 and L2, cortical activation was greater in the left hemisphere, and there was no significant difference in the lateralization index (LI) between the two languages (p > 0.05). Although the total activated cortical areas were larger in early than late bilinguals, the activation volumes were not significantly different.ConclusionActivated brains areas in early and late fluent bilinguals largely overlapped. However, these areas were more scattered upon presentation of L2 than L1, and L1 had a more specific pattern of activation than L2. For both languages, the left hemisphere was dominant. We found that L2 proficiency level rather than age of acquisition had a greater influence on which brain areas were activated with semantic processing.

Background To study the effectiveness of three-dimensional high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (3D-HR-VWI) in diagnosing ischemic stroke caused by perforating artery infarction. Methods We retrospectively studied 38 patients who were admitted to two different centers in China between 2016 and 2018. We examined the structure of the lenticulostriate arteries by 3D-HR-VWI and studied the characteristics of the perforating arterial lesions. Results There were no statistically significant differences between the number of lenticulostriate arteries on the lesion side and the normal side (P=0.2512), but there was a significant difference in the ratio of lenticulostriate arteries between patients with a striatum infarction and those with single perforating artery infarction (P=0.020). The depths of the lenticulostriate arteries on the lesion sides were also significantly different between the two groups (P=0.032). Differences among risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and smoking were not statistically significant. The differences in vascular involvement, length of M1 lesions, etiological type, number of lenticulostriate arteries, and depth of the lenticulostriate arteries were also not significant. Conclusion 3D-HR-VWI can show lesions of the lenticulostriate arteries and perforating arteries clearly, which has diagnostic value for judging the nature of ischemic stroke caused by perforating artery disease.