Medical University of Vienna has conducted a study which reveals that 7-Tesla ultra high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be utilised to clearly show the brain areas responsible for speech processing and production.
Discovered by the scientists from the Neurology Clinic at the university, this approach demonstrates much higher sensitivity and better diagnosis on these areas of the brain than standard clinical MRI scanners. These findings may prove very vital for future brain operations as the language centres could be better-protected during invasive surgeries. Knowledge about the location of these language centres prior to an operation is very important, as they can shift significantly due to tumours or injuries. The flexibility of the brain allows for such shifting. Gamage caused to any of the language centres during the course of brain surgery, in particular the Broca or Wernicke areas, could lead to the loss of the speech faculty.
The new MRI approach identified even very weak signals in the brain that would otherwise be overlooked, informed Roland Beisteiner from the Department of Neurology at the Vienna University.
The results from the study have been published in the brain function journal, NeuroImage.
EH News Bureau