Researchers report that although language is centered in the brain's left hemisphere in nearly all adults, a functional MRI study of spoken language comprehension in 39 children, ages 4-13 years, finds that the right-hemisphere homologs of the language centers were also active in children aged 4-6 years and decreased systematically with age, with 14 adults showing typical strong left lateralization and little activity in the right hemisphere; the results suggest that the brain's right hemisphere contributes to language development early in life and may provide an alternate route for language upon brain injury in young children.
Article #19-05590: "The neural basis of language development: Changes in lateralization over age," by Olumide A. Olulade et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Elissa L. Newport, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC; tel: 585-943-9002; e-mail: eln10@georgetown.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences