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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Published on: August 12, 2019

Speaking without Broca's area after tumor resection.

Monique Plaza¹, Peggy Gatignol, Marianne Leroy

¹Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurosciences Cognitives (UMR CNRS 8189), Université Paris Descartes, Service de Neurochirurgie, CHU Gui de Chauliac, Montpellier, France. monique.plaza@univ-paris5.fr

|March 11, 2009

Summary

This study shows that brain plasticity allows patients to maintain language function even after Broca's area resection for gliomas. Compensatory mechanisms enabled language processing, highlighting the need for comprehensive pre- and post-operative assessments.

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Study Design for Navigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Speech Cortical Mapping

Study Design for Navigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Speech Cortical Mapping

Published on: March 24, 2023

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Last Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Published on: August 12, 2019

Study Design for Navigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Speech Cortical Mapping

Study Design for Navigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Speech Cortical Mapping

Published on: March 24, 2023

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Neurosurgery
Cognitive Psychology

Background:

A patient with a left frontal WHO grade II glioma underwent awake surgery with intraoperative electrical stimulation.
The glioma infiltrated critical brain regions including the left inferior and middle frontal gyri, caudate nucleus, internal capsule, and insula.

Observation:

Language and cognitive skills were assessed pre-, peri-, and post-surgery using a narrative production task.
Intraoperative electrical stimulation guided tumor resection while monitoring language functions.

Findings:

Despite tumor infiltration and resection of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), severe language deficits were not observed, challenging strict localizationist models.
Slow tumor evolution facilitated compensatory mechanisms, preserving most language functions.
Subtle deficits in reported speech and relative clauses were noted, linked to minor working memory impairments.

Implications:

This case highlights the remarkable brain plasticity and compensatory capacity in response to glioma surgery.
It underscores the necessity for comprehensive pre-, peri-, and post-operative language and cognitive assessments beyond traditional Broca's area focus.
Findings suggest that functional reorganization can mitigate the impact of resecting language-critical areas.