Purpose: Brain imaging has provided puzzle pieces in the understanding of language. In neurologically healthy populations, structure of certain brain regions is associated with particular language functions (e.g., semantics, phonology). In studies on focal brain damage, certain brain regions or connections are considered sufficient or necessary for a given language function. However, few of these account for the effects of lesioned tissue on the functional dynamics of the brain for language processing. Here, functional connectivity amongst semantic-phonologic regions of interest (ROIs) is assessed to fill a gap in our understanding about the neural substrates of impaired language and whether connectivity strength can predict language performance on a clinical tool in individuals with aphasia. Method: Clinical assessment of language, using the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R), and resting-state fMRI data were obtained for 30 individuals with chronic aphasia secondary to left hemisphere stroke and 18 age-matched healthy controls. Functional connectivity (FC) between bilateral ROIs was contrasted by group and used to predict WAB-R scores. Results: Network coherence was observed in healthy controls and participants with stroke. The left-right premotor cortex connection was stronger in healthy controls, as reported by New et al. (2015) in the same data set. FC of (1) bilateral connections between temporal regions, in the left hemisphere and bilaterally, predicted lexical semantic processing for Auditory Comprehension and (2) ipsilateral connections between temporal and frontal regions in both hemispheres predicted access to semantic-phonologic representations and processing for verbal production. Conclusions: Network connectivity of brain regions associated with semantic-phonologic processing is predictive of language performance in post-stroke aphasia. The most predictive connections involved right hemisphere ROIs, particularly those for which structural adaptions are known to associate with recovered word retrieval performance. Predictions may be made, based on these findings, about which connections have potential as targets for neuroplastic functional changes with intervention in aphasia.

中文翻译：

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语义和语音感兴趣区域之间的静止状态功能磁共振成像连通性可能会告知失语症的语言目标

目的：脑成像为理解语言提供了难题。在神经健康的人群中，某些大脑区域的结构与特定的语言功能（例如语义，语音）相关。在关于局灶性脑损伤的研究中，对于给定的语言功能，某些大脑区域或连接被认为是足够或必要的。但是，这些因素很少能说明病变组织对语言处理大脑功能动力学的影响。在这里，评估了语义语音领域（ROI）之间的功能连通性，以填补我们对受损语言的神经基质以及连通性强度是否可以预测失语症患者临床工具上语言表现的理解的空白。方法：临床语言评估 使用西方失语症患者电池修订版（WAB-R），获得了30例继发于左半球卒中的慢性失语症患者和18位年龄相匹配的健康对照者的静息状态fMRI数据。按组对比双边ROI之间的功能连接（FC），并用于预测WAB-R得分。结果：在健康对照者和中风参与者中观察到网络连贯性。如New等人所报道，在健康对照中，左右运动前皮层连接更牢固。（2015）。（1）左半球和双侧颞区之间的双边连接的FC，预测听觉理解的词汇语义处理，以及（2）两个半球的颞和额叶区域之间的同侧连接，预测对语义语音表达的访问和言语产生的处理。结论：与语义语音处理相关的大脑区域的网络连通性可预测中风后失语症的语言表现。最可预测的联系涉及右半球ROI，尤其是那些已知结构适应性与恢复的单词检索性能相关的ROI。基于这些发现，可以做出预测，即哪些连接具有潜在的作为失语症干预下神经塑性功能改变的目标。与语义语音处理相关的大脑区域的网络连通性可预测中风后失语症的语言表现。最可预测的联系涉及右半球ROI，尤其是那些已知结构适应性与恢复的单词检索性能相关的ROI。基于这些发现，可以做出预测，即哪些连接具有潜在的作为失语症干预下神经塑性功能改变的目标。与语义语音处理相关的大脑区域的网络连通性可预测中风后失语症的语言表现。最可预测的联系涉及右半球ROI，尤其是那些已知结构适应性与恢复的单词检索性能相关的ROI。基于这些发现，可以做出预测，即哪些连接具有潜在的作为失语症干预下神经塑性功能改变的目标。