SPECT findings in children with specific language impairment.

Summary, in English

Findings from 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT measurements at rest in a group of 19 school-age children with specific language

impairment (SLI) were compared to a group of 12 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The

regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) distributions were different in the two groups. Children with SLI showed significantly lower CBF values in the right parietal region and in the subcortical region compared to the ADHD group. In addition, the SLI group had symmetric CBF distributions in the left and right temporal regions, whereas the ADHD group showed the usual asymmetry with left-sided hemispheric predominance in the temporal regions. The findings give further evidence for anomalous neurodevelopment with deviant hemispheric lateralization as an important factor in the aetiology of SLI. They also point to the role of subcortical structures in language impairment in childhood. Earlier focus on cortical structures in SLI research needs to be widened to include subcortical regions as well.

• Author: Marianne Ors; Erik Ryding; Magnus Lindgren; Peik Gustafsson; Gösta Blennow; Ingmar Rosén
• Department/s: Clinical Neurophysiology; Department of Psychology; Section IV; Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund
• Publishing year: 2005
• Language: English
• Pages: 316-326
• Publication/Series: Cortex
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 3
• Links: http://www.cortex-online.org/ftp/ftpDownloader.asp?action=downloadFile&dirID=158&fileID=812
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Topic: Neurology
• Keywords: lateralization; ADHD; specific language impairment; thalamus; language disorders; SPECT; basal ganglia
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1973-8102