TY - JOUR
T1 - Relation Between Reading Performance and White-Matter Alteration and Reorganization in Neurosurgical Patients
AU - Cargnelutti, Elisa
AU - Maieron, Marta
AU - Ius, Tamara
AU - Skrap, Miran
AU - Tomasino, Barbara
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Foundation for Cancer Research in Italy (AIRC)—Grant No.: I.G. 2017 Id.20387.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Cargnelutti, Maieron, Ius, Skrap and Tomasino.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/12/14
Y1 - 2020/12/14
N2 - Reading abilities and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters were retrospectively analyzed in a group of neurosurgical patients to investigate (Study 1) the role of white matter—in particular the arcuate fasciculus (AF)—in preserved vs. impaired reading; 4 months after surgery, we explored the plasticity processes (Study 2). Study 1 involved 40 patients with brain glioma (23 low-grade and 17 high-grade gliomas). We compared preoperative DTI parameters of language-related fascicles between patients who developed a reading impairment after surgery (n = 23) and patients with preserved reading (n = 17). Besides lower fractional anisotropy (FA), patients with impaired reading also displayed lower number and density of streamlines of a direct (i.e., directly connecting temporal and frontal lobes) AF segment. In Study 2, we longitudinally tested at follow-up-when reading performance had generally improved-13 patients diagnosed with low-grade glioma. The most relevant finding was a significant increase in length of streamlines of the direct AF segments in both hemispheres. From a neurosurgical perspective, our preliminary findings suggest the clinical importance of sparing direct AF segments for the involvement they showed in reading; however, the results also suggest the reorganization potential of these segments, possibly compensating of the right homologs as well.
AB - Reading abilities and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters were retrospectively analyzed in a group of neurosurgical patients to investigate (Study 1) the role of white matter—in particular the arcuate fasciculus (AF)—in preserved vs. impaired reading; 4 months after surgery, we explored the plasticity processes (Study 2). Study 1 involved 40 patients with brain glioma (23 low-grade and 17 high-grade gliomas). We compared preoperative DTI parameters of language-related fascicles between patients who developed a reading impairment after surgery (n = 23) and patients with preserved reading (n = 17). Besides lower fractional anisotropy (FA), patients with impaired reading also displayed lower number and density of streamlines of a direct (i.e., directly connecting temporal and frontal lobes) AF segment. In Study 2, we longitudinally tested at follow-up-when reading performance had generally improved-13 patients diagnosed with low-grade glioma. The most relevant finding was a significant increase in length of streamlines of the direct AF segments in both hemispheres. From a neurosurgical perspective, our preliminary findings suggest the clinical importance of sparing direct AF segments for the involvement they showed in reading; however, the results also suggest the reorganization potential of these segments, possibly compensating of the right homologs as well.
KW - diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
KW - direct arcuate fasciculus
KW - functional recovery
KW - neurosurgical patients
KW - plasticity
KW - reading
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U2 - 10.3389/fneur.2020.563259
DO - 10.3389/fneur.2020.563259
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85098252017
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Neurology
JF - Frontiers in Neurology
SN - 1664-2295
M1 - 563259
ER -