Functional MRI provides insights into language organization of bilingual aphasia

Abstract

Italian 40-year-old right-handed woman, with late, consecutive, and balanced bilingualism (English), presented with comprehension aphasia of ischemic etiology (figure, A) in the primary language, but not in the second one. After a 3-month logopedic rehabilitation, speech-language improved dramatically. Later, fMRI was performed with task of verbal fluency-verb generation 1 on both languages. The Italian task showed activation of left Broca and Wernicke areas (figure, B and C), while prominent activation was evident on right superior temporal gyrus in the English task. Broca area was represented bilaterally (figure, D-F). The fMRI provides insights into language organization in bilingual patients. 2 Study funding No targeted funding reported.

Stroke or No Stroke: A Case Report of Bilingual Aphasia

“…Likely, hypoperfusion of Broca's area results in selective processing and expression along the motor arm of speech. 4,5 With Wernicke's area unaffected, comprehension of speech, regardless of the language, is unaffected. Total loss of a language would suggest a different etiology such as hypoperfusion of the whole dominant hemisphere or even in the whole brain.…”