Madalina Elena Tivarus1,2, John T. Langfitt3, Derek D. Lasher4, Sven Ekholm1
1Department of Imaging Sciences,
University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; 2The Rochester Center
for Brain Imaging, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; 3Epilepsy
Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; 4Skidmore
College, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
FMRI is becoming an increasingly viable alternative to what has been the gold standard for functional lateralization, Wada procedure. There are great challenges when performing these exams in individual patients since there is no standardized procedure and patterns of activation differ widely between patients. Our retrospective study found that fMRI using a battery of language tests is more reliable than a single test in assessing language hemispheric dominance in patients with brain lesions and/or epilepsy. However, the technique is not yet able to entirely replace the Wada procedure but can be used as a screening tool to limit its need.