Functional MRI and Wada Determination of Language Lateralization: A Case of Crossed Dominance
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. R. J. Ogg at Department of Diagnostic Imaging, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Summary: The Wada test has historically been the conventional procedure for determining language lateralization before neurosurgery. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers a less invasive alternative to the Wada procedure. Research indicates that the two techniques used together may provide comparable, and sometimes complementary, information that results in improved prediction of postsurgical language ability. We present a case in which use of fMRI in conjunction with Wada testing provided complementary information about language lateralization before neurosurgical resection of a mesial temporal subependymoma for seizure control in a patient with schizencephaly.
