Interesting article summary
Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:51 pm
COGNITION: Language lateralisation
and the brachial plexus
Such a simple experiment this, but so profound. This German-Hungarian
-American collaboration addresses how language becomes lateralised...
Fifteen subjects were studied, who had all had severe brachial plexus
injuries at birth so that one limb was flaccid and useless. Those subjects
who had injuries to the right arm had – on fMRI testing of word genera-
tion – much greater language representation on the right hemisphere
than in those with left arm injury. Furthermore, there was a correlation
between the degree of injury and the extent of left-to-right shift.
This is exciting because it shows that reduced arm or hand function
from a peripheral injury can lead to cortical reorganisation during lan-
guage development. This implies that lateralisation depends to some
extent on hand function. Perhaps our left hemisphere develops language
best when we can gesticulate freely with our right hand? – AJC
Auer T, Pinter S, Kovacs N, Kalmar Z, Nagy F, Horvath RA,
Koszo B, Kotek G, Perlaki G, Koves M, Kalman B, Komoly S,
Schwarcz A, Woermann FG, Janszky J.
Does obstetric brachial plexus injury influence speech
dominance?
ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY
2009;65(1):57-66
and the brachial plexus
Such a simple experiment this, but so profound. This German-Hungarian
-American collaboration addresses how language becomes lateralised...
Fifteen subjects were studied, who had all had severe brachial plexus
injuries at birth so that one limb was flaccid and useless. Those subjects
who had injuries to the right arm had – on fMRI testing of word genera-
tion – much greater language representation on the right hemisphere
than in those with left arm injury. Furthermore, there was a correlation
between the degree of injury and the extent of left-to-right shift.
This is exciting because it shows that reduced arm or hand function
from a peripheral injury can lead to cortical reorganisation during lan-
guage development. This implies that lateralisation depends to some
extent on hand function. Perhaps our left hemisphere develops language
best when we can gesticulate freely with our right hand? – AJC
Auer T, Pinter S, Kovacs N, Kalmar Z, Nagy F, Horvath RA,
Koszo B, Kotek G, Perlaki G, Koves M, Kalman B, Komoly S,
Schwarcz A, Woermann FG, Janszky J.
Does obstetric brachial plexus injury influence speech
dominance?
ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY
2009;65(1):57-66