08.09.

2020 Ch ldren use both bra n hem spheres to understand language, unl ke adults -- Sc enceDa ly

EXTENSIVE READING SERIES – 111 –

Your source for the latest research news

Ch ldren use both bra n hem spheres to understand language,

unl ke adults
Date: September 7, 2020

Source: Georgetown Un vers ty Med cal Center

Summary: Infants and young ch ldren have bra ns w th a superpower, of sorts, say neurosc ent sts.
Whereas adults process most d screte neural tasks n spec f c areas n one or the other of the r
bra n's two hem spheres, youngsters use both the r ght and left hem spheres to do the same
task. The f nd ng suggests a poss ble reason why ch ldren appear to recover from neural njury
much eas er than adults.

FULL STORY

Infants and young ch ldren have bra ns w th a superpower, of sorts, say Georgetown
Un vers ty Med cal Center neurosc ent sts. Whereas adults process most d screte
neural tasks n spec f c areas n one or the other of the r bra n's two hem spheres,
youngsters use both the r ght and left hem spheres to do the same task. The f nd ng
suggests a poss ble reason why ch ldren appear to recover from neural njury much
eas er than adults.

The study publ shed Sept. 7, 2020 n PNAS focuses on one task, language, and f nds that to understand
language (more spec f cally, process ng spoken sentences), ch ldren use both hem spheres. Th s f nd ng f ts
w th prev ous and ongo ng research, led by Georgetown neurology professor El ssa L. Newport, PhD, a former
postdoctoral fellow Olum de Olulade, MD, PhD, and neurology ass stant professor Anna Greenwald, PhD.

"Th s s very good news for young ch ldren who exper ence a neural njury," says Newport, d rector of the
Center for Bra n Plast c ty and Recovery, a jo nt enterpr se of Georgetown Un vers ty and MedStar Nat onal
Rehab l tat on Network. "Use of both hem spheres prov des a mechan sm to compensate after a neural njury.
For example, f the left hem sphere s damaged from a per natal stroke -- one that occurs r ght after b rth -- a
ch ld w ll learn language us ng the r ght hem sphere. A ch ld born w th cerebral palsy that damages only one
hem sphere can develop needed cogn t ve ab l t es n the other hem sphere. Our study demonstrates how that
s poss ble."

The r study solves a mystery that has puzzled cl n c ans and neurosc ent sts for a long t me, says Newport.

In almost all adults, sentence process ng s poss ble only n the left hem sphere, accord ng to both bra n
scann ng research and cl n cal f nd ngs of language loss n pat ents who suffered a left hem sphere stroke.

But n very young ch ldren, damage to e ther hem sphere s unl kely to result n language def c ts; language can
be recovered n many pat ents even f the left hem sphere s severely damaged. These facts suggest that
language s d str buted to both hem spheres early n l fe, Newport says. However, trad t onal scann ng had not
revealed the deta ls of these phenomena unt l now. "It was unclear whether strong left dom nance for language
s present at b rth or appears gradually dur ng development," expla ns Newport.

https://www.sc enceda ly.com/releases/2020/09/200907163333.htm 1/3

08.09.2020 Ch ldren use both bra n hem spheres to understand language, unl ke adults -- Sc enceDa ly

Now, us ng funct onal magnet c resonance mag ng (fMRI) analyzed n a more complex way, the researchers
have shown that the adult lateral zat on pattern s not establ shed n young ch ldren and that both hem spheres
part c pate n language dur ng early development.

Bra n networks that local ze spec f c tasks to one or the other hem sphere start dur ng ch ldhood but are not
complete unt l a ch ld s about 10 or 11, she says. "We now have a better platform upon wh ch to understand
bra n njury and recovery."

The study, or g nally run by collaborators W ll am D. Ga llard, MD, and Mad son M. Berl, PhD, of Ch ldren's
Nat onal Med cal Center, enrolled 39 healthy ch ldren, ages 4-13; Newport's lab added 14 adults, ages 18-29,
and conducted a ser es of new analyses of both groups. The part c pants were g ven a well-stud ed sentence
comprehens on task. The analyses exam ned fMRI act vat on patterns n each hem sphere of the nd v dual
part c pants, rather than look ng at overall lateral zat on n group averages. Invest gators then compared the
language act vat on maps for four age groups: 4-6, 7-9, 10-13, and 18-29. Penetrance maps revealed the
percentage of subjects n each age group w th s gn f cant language act vat on n each voxel of each
hem sphere. (A voxel s a t ny po nt n the bra n mage, l ke a p xel on a telev s on mon tor.) Invest gators also
performed a whole-bra n analys s across all part c pants to dent fy bra n areas n wh ch language act vat on
was correlated w th age.

Researchers found that, at the group level, even young ch ldren show left-lateral zed language act vat on.
However, a large proport on of the youngest ch ldren also show s gn f cant act vat on n the correspond ng r ght-
hem sphere areas. (In adults, the correspond ng area n the r ght hem sphere s act vated n qu te d fferent
tasks, for example, process ng emot ons expressed w th the vo ce. In young ch ldren, areas n both
hem spheres are each engaged n comprehend ng the mean ng of sentences as well as recogn z ng the
emot onal affect.)

Newport bel eves that the "h gher levels of r ght hem sphere act vat on n a sentence process ng task and the
slow decl ne n th s act vat on over development are reflect ons of changes n the neural d str but on of
language funct ons and not merely developmental changes n sentence comprehens on strateg es."

She also says that, f the team were able to do the same analys s n even younger ch ldren, " t s l kely we
would see even greater funct onal nvolvement of the r ght hem sphere n language process ng than we see n
our youngest part c pants (ages 4-6 years old).

"Our f nd ngs suggest that the normal nvolvement of the r ght hem sphere n language process ng dur ng very
early ch ldhood may perm t the ma ntenance and enhancement of r ght hem sphere development f the left
hem sphere s njured," Newport says.

The nvest gators are now exam n ng language act vat on n teenagers and young adults who have had a major
left hem sphere stroke at b rth.

Story Source:

Mater als prov ded by Georgetown Un vers ty Med cal Center. Note: Content may be ed ted for style and
length.

C te Th s Page:
MLA APA Ch cago

Georgetown Un vers ty Med cal Center. "Ch ldren use both bra n hem spheres to understand language, unl ke
adults." Sc enceDa ly. Sc enceDa ly, 7 September 2020.
<www.sc enceda ly.com/releases/2020/09/200907163333.htm>.

https://www.sc enceda ly.com/releases/2020/09/200907163333.htm 2/3