Language Activities of the Brain During the Recovery Phase of Aphasia Measured with Optical Topography

The aim of this study is to observe the mechanism of functional recovery of the brain after aphasia by means of optical topography. 13 patients in the recovery phase of aphasia were enrolled in this study. All showed aphasia after strokes on their left frontal lobes. We used 24-channel near-infrared spectroscopy. Optical probes were placed on the frontoparietal area. Word generation task was used with five-trial-averaging. About 30% of cases showed activities in the right frontal area. 30% showed activations in the left hemisphere surrounding the Broca´s area. 7 cases were followed up for several times. 4 cases showed the shift of activities from the right to the left hemisphere within 2 years. Our results strongly suggest the participation of the right language area in the recovery of aphasia.