Specific language impairment: linguistic and neurobiological aspects

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Specific language impairment (SLI) affects children with significant language delays, excluding other developmental or sensory issues.
• Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of SLI is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To classify children with SLI based on subtypes.
• To correlate clinical language manifestations with specific cortical abnormalities identified via MRI.

Main Methods:

• Seventeen children diagnosed with SLI were assessed using standardized (Peabody) and non-standardized language protocols.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was performed to evaluate brain structure, focusing on cortical anomalies.

Main Results:

• Abnormal MRI findings were present in 16 out of 17 children.
• Perisylvian polymicrogyria was the most common finding (13 children). Other anomalies included frontal polymicrogyria, atrophy, and corpus callosum hypogenesis.
• Posterior cortical involvement correlated with milder SLI symptoms, while diffuse perisylvian polymicrogyria was associated with severe phonological-syntactic deficits.

Conclusions:

• Specific language impairment is frequently associated with perisylvian polymicrogyria.
• The clinical presentation and severity of SLI subtypes are influenced by the extent and location of cortical anomalies.