Temporal reliability and lateralization of the resting-state language network

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Broca's and Wernicke's areas are crucial for language processing.
• Brain asymmetry, particularly left dominance in language areas, is well-established.
• Reproducibility of resting-state language networks across institutions is known, but temporal reliability is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal reliability of the resting-state language network and its functional asymmetry.
• To assess the impact of global signal regression (GSR) on network reliability.
• To provide methodological insights for future language network research.

Main Methods:

• Seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis using Broca's and Wernicke's areas as seeds.
• Evaluation of short- and long-term temporal reliability of the language network and its lateralization.
• Investigation of the effect of global signal regression (GSR) on reliability.

Main Results:

• The language network exhibits high temporal reliability in both short- and long-term analyses.
• Broca's area shows left lateralization, while Wernicke's area demonstrates right lateralization, with reliable asymmetry.
• Global signal regression (GSR) had a negligible effect on the temporal reliability of the resting-state language network.

Conclusions:

• Seed-based functional connectivity provides a reliable method for studying the resting-state language network.
• The findings support the temporal stability of language network asymmetry.
• This research offers a methodological foundation for cross-cultural and clinical studies on language networks.