fMRI activation in the middle frontal gyrus as an indicator of hemispheric dominance for language in brain tumor patients: a comparison with Broca's area.

INTRODUCTION: Functional MRI (fMRI) can assess language lateralization in brain tumor patients; however, this can be limited if the primary language area-Broca's area (BA)-is affected by the tumor. We hypothesized that the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) can be used as a clinical indicator of hemispheric dominance for language during presurgical workup. METHODS: Fifty-two right-handed subjects with solitary left-hemispheric primary brain tumors were retrospectively studied. Subjects performed a verbal fluency task during fMRI. The MFG was compared to BA for fMRI voxel activation, language laterality index (LI), and the effect of tumor grade on the LI. RESULTS: Language fMRI (verbal fluency) activated more voxels in MFG than in BA (MFG = 315, BA = 216, p < 0.001). Voxel activations in the left-hemispheric MFG and BA were positively correlated (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). Mean LI in the MFG was comparable to that in BA (MFG = 0.48, BA = 0.39, p = 0.06). LIs in MFG and BA were positively correlated (r = 0.62, p < 0.001). Subjects with high-grade tumors demonstrate lower language lateralization than those with low-grade tumors in both BA and MFG (p = 0.02, p = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSION: MFG is comparable to BA in its ability to indicate hemispheric dominance for language using a measure of verbal fluency and may be an adjunct measure in the clinical determination of language laterality for presurgical planning.

Clinical applications of functional MR imaging.

Functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging for neurosurgical planning has become the standard of care in centers where it is available. Although paradigms to measure eloquent cortices are not yet standardized, simple tasks elicit reliable maps for planning neurosurgical procedures. A patient-specific paradigm design will refine the usability of fMR imaging for prognostication and recovery of function. Certain pathologic conditions and technical issues limit the interpretation of fMR imaging maps in clinical use and should be considered carefully. However, fMR imaging for neurosurgical planning continues to provide insights into how the brain works and how it responds to pathologic insults.