Arcuate fasciculus laterality by diffusion tensor imaging correlates with language laterality by functional MRI in...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Language lateralization, unique to humans, is studied using functional MRI (fMRI) for language areas and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for white matter tracts.
• The arcuate fasciculus (AF) is a key white matter pathway involved in language processing.
• Previous research has not directly correlated AF laterality measured by DTI with fMRI findings in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To correlate arcuate fasciculus (AF) laterality as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with that measured by functional MRI (fMRI) in preadolescent children.
• To investigate the relationship between DTI-derived measures of the AF and fMRI-based language lateralization indices.

Main Methods:

• Ten children aged 8-12 years underwent fMRI and DTI using a 1.5 T MRI scanner.
• fMRI utilized visual verb generation and word pair tasks; DTI measured arcuate fasciculus volume (AFV) and fractional anisotropy (FA).
• Laterality Indices (fMRI-LI and DTI-LI) were calculated and correlated using Pearson Correlation.

Main Results:

• Eight of ten children exhibited left-lateralized language processing on fMRI; two showed bilateral patterns.
• DTI revealed greater AFV on the left in seven of eight children with left fMRI lateralization, correlating significantly with fMRI-LI (p < 0.02).
• Mean AFV was significantly higher on the left (2659.89 mm³) compared to the right (1824.11 mm³) (p < 0.01).

Conclusions:

• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) effectively demonstrates language laterality in children, mirroring findings from functional MRI (fMRI).
• A significant correlation exists between DTI-based and fMRI-based measures of language laterality in this pediatric cohort.
• DTI provides a valuable tool for assessing language network lateralization in developing brains.