Effect of articulatory rehabilitation after oral cancer surgery on higher brain activation

The present study aimed to verify the importance of postoperative articulatory rehabilitation in patients with oral cancer and to clarify the neurological changes underlying articulatory functional recovery. A longitudinal assessment of oral function and accompanying brain activity was performed using non-invasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We assessed 13 patients with cancers of the tongue and oral floor before and after ablative surgery. Articulatory function was assessed preoperatively and postoperatively using a conversation intelligibility test and the Assessment of Motor Speech for Dysarthria test. Patients also performed a verbal task during fMRI scans. The assessments were then repeated after the patients had undergone 4-6 months of articulatory rehabilitation therapy. Compared to pretreatment levels, articulatory rehabilitation resulted in a significant increase in activation in the supplementary motor cortex, thalamus, and cingulate cortex. The present study offers a quantitative assessment of the effects of speech rehabilitation by investigating changes in brain activation sites.