Patients Recovered from Stroke During Infancy Process Sentences on the Right Brain

According to a clinical study by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers, infants who had a major stroke within days of birth were able to acquire the language skills on the right hemisphere of the brain that are typically handled by the left side.

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Toddler Reading Book

Left and Right Hemispheres of the Brain

The researchers gathered individuals from all around the US who had experienced little to big strokes in the left hemisphere's cortex around the time of birth. Participants took language exams between the ages of 9 and 26. Their results were compared to those of their healthy siblings who were of a similar age. They also underwent an MRI scan to identify the brain regions related to sentence comprehension.

The participants and their siblings who were in good health finished the language tests almost perfectly. The main distinction was that while their siblings processed sentences on the left side of the brain the stroke participants processed sentences on the right side of the brain. Regardless of the degree or location of damage caused by the stroke to the left hemisphere, the stroke participants displayed a remarkably consistent pattern of language

Normally, the left hemisphere of the brain is in charge of processing sentences, including comprehending words and sentences as we listen to speech. On the other hand, the right hemisphere of the brain is often in charge of processing the voice's emotions, including happiness, sadness, anger, or calmness.

Research Findings on Participants Who Experienced Stroke

The individuals in the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, underwent normal pregnancy. But around birth, each of them experienced a massive stroke that would have crippling effects on them as adults. Although far less common in newborns, strokes do occur in about one out of every 4,000 births.

According to Medical Xpress, the researchers looked at perinatal arterial ischemic stroke, a form of brain injury that happens around the time of birth and occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to a certain area of the brain. Adults experience the same type of stroke significantly more frequently. Although there has been previous research on different types of brain injury in babies, the authors were able to uncover more consistent results in this study by concentrating on one particular type of injury.

ALSO READ: How to Recognize Signs of a Stroke

Brain Plasticity in Childhood

The most significant finding, according to Lisa Newport, Ph.D., director of the Georgetown Medical Center's Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, is that brain plasticity, specifically the capacity to reorganize language to the opposing side of the brain, is possible early in life.

The early plasticity for language is, however, confined to a single brain area. The brain cannot simply reconstruct damaged processes since more radical reconfiguration is not even conceivable in infancy. This gives valuable information about the areas that researchers might want to concentrate on in order to make advancements in the creation of approaches for adult rehabilitation as well.

The fact that all of the participants are such well-functioning adults several years after their strokes is particularly noteworthy, according to Newport. Some are master's holders while others are honors students. Their accomplishments are particularly impressive considering that some of their parents were informed at birth that their strokes would result in lifelong disability.