|
Language Representation of Chinese-English Bilinguals With Left
Professor
Agnes S. Y. CHAN
Ph.D.,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Department of Psychology,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
| Date |
11 Jan 2005 (Tue) |
|
| Time |
11:00
am |
|
| Venue |
Room
619, Sino Building, Chung Chi College, CUHK |
Abstract
Objective: To determine
the language lateralization of Chinese and English in bilingual patients
with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) by fMRI. Methods: Language processing
of seventeen, healthy, right-handed, normal controls and 20 patients with
TLE (13 left- and 7 right-TLE) was studied by whole-brain 1.5T fMRI using
Chinese and English reading paradigms. For each paradigm, activation maps
were created at the group and individual levels. A fMRI laterality index,
defined by (L-R)/(L+R) times 100, was measured by counting the number
of activated vowels in regions of interest in the left (L) and right (R)
hemispheres.
Results: A larger proportion of left-TLE patients, as compared to normal
controls (Chinese: 24%; English: 18%), demonstrated bilateral hemispheric
representation in both Chinese (46%) and English (23%). For right-TLE
patients, this pattern was only observed in processing Chinese (57%) but
not English (14%).
Conclusions: These findings support the notion that the neural processing
of Chinese involves bilateral involvement. A shift of Chinese and English
language representation was found on patients with left TLE, while only
a change of Chinese but not English representation was observed in patients
with right TLE. |
