Optical imaging of bilingual cortical representations - Case report

The organization of language in the brains of multilingual persons remains controversial. The authors investigated language representations in a profi cient bilingual patient by using a novel neuroimaging technique, intraopera tive optical imaging of intrinsic signals (iOIS), and a visual object namin g task. The results indicate that there are cortical areas that are activat ed by the use of both English and Spanish languages (superior temporal sulc us, superior and middle temporal gyri, and parts of the supramarginal gyrus ). Zn addition, language-specific areas were identified in the supramargina l (Spanish) and precentral (English) gyri. These results suggest that corti cal language representations in bilingual persons may consist of both overl apping and distinct components. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the ut ility of iOIS in detecting topographical segregation of cognitively distinc t cortices.