Browsing by Subject "Language"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item [News](1979-10-30) Spiegel, RichardItem Pre-Surgical fMRI Mapping of Language: Accuracy of Mapping Language Regions in Patients with Mass Lesions(2017-01-17) Thrikutam, Nikhitha; O'Neill, Thomas; Yetkin, Zerrin; Patel, ToralOBJECTIVES: (1) To introduce a novel methodology for co-registration of pre- and post-surgical clinical imaging. (2) To document prognostic imaging correlates of functional imaging/tractography to post-surgical outcome. BACKGROUND: The accuracy, reproducibility, and clinical applicability of pre-surgical imaging evaluation of language in patients with mass lesions near language areas has been previously demonstrated by this group. The accuracy and clinical applicability of pre-surgical mapping can be confirmed by correlating pre-surgical imaging to post-surgical imaging and then to any related language deficits. It is hypothesized that if the surgical resection cavity includes areas of language activation language deficits will result. Correlation of outcomes with language mapping and post-surgical imaging has not been documented in the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pre-surgical functional maps and diffusion tensor tracts were created utilizing AFNI and DynaSuite software following fMRI/DTI tractography protocol to evaluate language regions. Post-surgical follow-up of speech deficits was obtained from the medical charts. A computerized method was used to co-register pre- and post-surgical images. Multiple variables including structural, functional, and clinical findings were documented and analyzed for correlation to outcome. RESULTS: 13 patients with left-sided mass lesions with complete pre- and post-surgical clinical imaging and clinical evaluation were included in this retrospective study. Of the 13 patients only 1 patient was noted to have a severe post-operative language deficit and 4 patients were noted to have moderate post-operative laguage deficits. Accurate co-registration was achieved in all cases. Prognostic indicators of language deficits included proximity of activation to the resection cavity, the level of resection, and involvement of the adjacent trajectory of arcuate fasciculus. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Pre-surgical fMRI was accurately co-registered with post-surgical images. (2) Structural, functional, and DTI images were shown to have prognostic value for post-surgical language deficits.Item Understanding the Conserved and Species-Specific Functions of FOXP2, a Gene Implicated in Speech and Language Development(2018-07-30) Hickey, Stephanie Lepp; Roberts, Todd; Powell, Craig M.; Huber, Kimberly M.; Takahashi, JosephDuring my dissertation work I sought to better understand the conserved and human-specific functions of FoxP2. Intrigued by the enrichment of FOXP2 in the human subplate layer, I hypothesized that FOXP2 regulates evolutionarily distinct subplate gene expression patterns and tested this theory by performing RNA-seq in human differentiating neurons and leveraging publically available developmental expression data from human, macaque, and mouse cortex in order to identify human specific, primate specific, and conserved subplate genes regulated by FOXP2. This study not only identified human specific targets in this expanded, transient region, but it may also inspire research of the conserved, non-cell-autonomous role of FoxP2 in the maturation of thalamocortical circuitry. Additionally, I performed ChIP-seq and RNA-seq in human neural progenitor cells and found evidence that FOXP2 may actively modify the chromatin landscape. This lead me to hypothesize that by modifying the chromatin landscape of neural progenitors FOXP2 turns off cellular programs that maintain an undifferentiated state while turning on programs that drive a cell towards a neuronal fate. To test this hypothesis, I identified areas of nucleosomal depletion using ATAC-seq and correlated epigenetic changes caused by FOXP2 expression to changes in gene expression in proliferating and differentiating human neurons. This allowed me to define two separate molecular mechanisms by which FOXP2 regulates gene expression in human neurons, even finding a potential FOXP2 co-activator. Together, these studies push forward our understanding of the function of FoxP2, especially in human neurons, and provide a source of data from which the next hypotheses concerning FoxP2 and human language formation may be derived.