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Lyn M. Balsamo, MA; Benjamin Xu, PhD; Cecile B. Grandin, MD, PhD; Jeffrey R. Petrella, MD; Suzanne H. Braniecki, MA; Teresa K. Elliott, PhD; William D. Gaillard, MD

Arch Neurol. 2002;59:1168-1174.

Background  Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a noninvasive method of assessing language dominance in a pediatric population.

Objective  To determine the pattern of receptive language lateralization in healthy children.

Design  We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess an auditory language task in 11 children (7 girls, 4 boys; mean age, 8.5 years). Participants alternately rested and listened to descriptors of nouns presented auditorily, naming the object described silently. Asymmetry indices ([(left - right)/(left + right)]) were calculated for a priori–determined regions of interest.

Results  The results showed strong activation bilaterally, with greater activation on the left in the superior and middle temporal gyri. Other areas of activation included the cuneus, the left inferior temporal gyrus, the prefrontal area, and the left fusiform and lingual gyri. Regions of interest analysis of individual scans showed additional activation in the left frontal lobe. Asymmetry indices showed strong left lateralization of the inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and the Wernicke region.

Conclusions  Hemispheric lateralization was clearly demonstrated in 8 children. As in adults, left hemisphere lateralization of receptive language is present at age 8 years.

From the Department of Neurology, Children's National Medical Center, George Washington School of Medicine, Washington, DC (Mss Balsamo and Braniecki and Dr Gaillard); Epilepsy Research Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md (Mss Balsamo and Braniecki and Drs Xu, Grandin, Petrella, and Gaillard); and American University, Washington, DC (Ms Balsamo and Dr Elliott).

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