[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

Title: Functional neuroimaging and network-level abnormalities underlying foreign accent
syndrome
Authors: *J. A. RILEY 1 , J. A. BUTMAN 2 , W. IDSARDI 1 , A. R. BRAUN 3 ;
1 Univ. Maryland CP, College Park, MD; 2 Diagnos. Radiology Dept., Clin. Ctr. of the Natl. Inst.
of Hlth., Bethesda, MD; 3 Language Section, Natl. Inst. on Deafness and Other Communication
Disorders, Bethesda, MD
Abstract: We present a case study of a patient presenting with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS)
with an unusual pattern of lesions. A highly focal unilateral lesion in motor cortex was revealed
by structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with another small, similar lesion in parietal
cortex. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was performed while the patient
carried out hand, jaw, and tongue maneuvers. The results indicated that the lesion in primary
motor cortex was located within the area representing the tongue. Combined with the parietal
lobe damage, this lesion pattern is atypical of previous cases of FAS, as there is no indication of
subcortical damage.
A traditional phonetic analysis of the patient‟s productive deficits revealed classic productive
symptoms of FAS. The results of this analysis are assessed within the context of the FAS
literature.
An additional series of fMRI studies will be conducted comparing activity in the patient with
normal age-matched controls in order to investigate network-level abnormalities. These studies,
along with the traditional phonetic analysis and lesion localization provided by the combined
structural and
functional MRI studies is likely to shed light on the neural mechanisms implicated in FAS.
Figure 1. Extent of cortical
laminar infarct (white arrows, A-C) in the expected location of the face representation of the
motor strip. Left lateral (A) and supero-lateral (B) views demonstrate the extent of cortical
laminar infarct as hyperintense signal (white arrow) confined to the precentral gyrus involving
the expected location of the face representation on the motor strip. Focal cortical infarct is also
noted in the parietal lobe (white arrowhead). BOLD fMRI activations (C) from fingertapping
task alternating between the right (blue) and left (orange) hands confirm that the hand