Plasticity and reorganization during language development in children withearly brain injury

Although some studies have reported subtle language deficits following earl y focal brain lesions (EFBL), most studies find no evidence for differentia l language outcomes as a function of lesion side or lesion type in children with congenital injuries to one side of the brain. However, recent prospec tive studies of the first stages of language development in English-speakin g children with EFBL have reported greater delays in expressive vocabulary in children with left-hemisphere damage, particularly if the lesion involve s left temporal cortex. In the present study, first stages in the developme nt of word production were studied in 43 Italian children with congenital E FBL, between 13 and 46 months of age. As a group, the EFBL children were ma rkedly delayed in expressive vocabulary. Among children who were in the fir st stage of language learning, delays were significantly greater with left- hemisphere injury. However, this left-right difference was not evident in c hildren who had moved on to the next stage of language development, produci ng at least some sentences. Discussion centers on the role of developmental plasticity in determining the outcomes of early focal brain injury, sugges ting that recovery from initial delays may take place in the early stages o f language development, at least for some children.