SPECT findings in children with specific language impairment

Findings from 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT measurements at rest in a group of 19 school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) were compared to a group of 12 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) distributions were different in the two groups. Children with SLI showed significantly lower CBF values in the right parietal region and in the subcortical region compared to the ADHD group. In addition, the SLI group had symmetric CBF distributions in the left and right temporal regions, whereas the ADHD group showed the usual asymmetry with left-sided hemispheric predominance in the temporal regions. The findings give further evidence for anomalous neurodevelopment with deviant hemispheric lateralization as an important factor in the aetiology of SLI. They also point to the role of subcortical structures in language impairment in childhood. Earlier focus on cortical structures in SLI research needs to be widened to include subcortical regions as well.