Reorganization and Stability for Motor and Language Areas Using Cortical Stimulation: Case Example and Review of the Literature

Brain Sciences

Sandra Serafini²  Jordan M. Komisarow²  William Gallentine¹  Mohamad A. Mikati¹  Melanie J. Bonner³  Peter G. Kranz⁴  Michael M. Haglund² 

[1] Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3936, Durham, NC 27710, USA; E-Mails:;Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3807, Durham, NC 27710, USA; E-Mails:;Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3527, Durham, NC 27705, USA; E-Mail:;Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3808, Durham, NC 27710, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: language;    motor;    cortical stimulation;    reorganization;    pediatric;   

DOI  :  10.3390/brainsci3041597

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The cerebral organization of language in epilepsy patients has been studied with invasive procedures such as Wada testing and electrical cortical stimulation mapping and more recently with noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, such as functional MRI. In the setting of a chronic seizure disorder, clinical variables have been shown to contribute to cerebral language reorganization underscoring the need for language lateralization and localization procedures. We present a 14-year-old pediatric patient with a refractory epilepsy disorder who underwent two neurosurgical resections of a left frontal epileptic focus separated by a year. He was mapped extraoperatively through a subdural grid using cortical stimulation to preserve motor and language functions. The clinical history and extensive workup prior to surgery is discussed as well as the opportunity to compare the cortical maps for language, motor, and sensory function before each resection. Reorganization in cortical tongue sensory areas was seen concomitant with a new zone of ictal and interictal activity in the previous tongue sensory area. Detailed neuropsychological data is presented before and after any surgical intervention to hypothesize about the extent of reorganization between epochs. We conclude that intrahemispheric cortical plasticity does occur following frontal lobe resective surgery in a teenager with medically refractory seizures.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.