The pattern in the SLI group

was less lateralised in both frontal and temporal lobes for the Speech greater than Reversed Speech contrast (see Fig. 6). This was mainly due to three individuals in the SLI group who showed a tendency to right lateralisation (two) or no clear lateralisation (one). The individual in the SLI group who was most clearly right lateralised was also left-handed. There was a significant difference between the SLI and TYP groups in the laterality indices for frontal lobe activation for the Speech condition only; SLI vs. TYP, U = 22, p = 0.03, r = −0.47; SLI vs. SIB, U = 11, p = 0.09, r = −0.45. The SLI group showed both structural and functional abnormalities in several areas. The left inferior frontal find more cortex showed increased grey matter and decreased functional activation, whereas the posterior temporal cortex showed both decreased grey matter and functional activation. Grey matter volume estimates

and percent signal change for the Speech condition were extracted for each participant at the first-level from 6-mm radius spherical regions of interest centred on the coordinates reported in Table 2. selleckchem Also, because previous studies in the KE family had noted reduced grey matter in the caudate nucleus and found this to be related to behavioural measures on nonword repetition and oromotor praxis (see Watkins et al., 2002b), we examined the same correlations in the SLI and the SIB groups separately. These analyses showed a negative correlation between nonword repetition and grey matter volume in the right caudate nucleus for the SLI group (ρ = −0.55, p = 0.05); the remaining correlations were not significant. We compared brain structure

and function during a language task in a group of individuals with SLI, their selleck compound unaffected siblings and typically developing controls. The SLI group had significantly more grey matter than controls in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and significantly less grey matter in the right caudate nucleus and the superior temporal sulcus (STS) bilaterally. Functionally, when performance of the covert naming task was contrasted with a silent baseline or passive listening to reversed speech, the SLI group showed generally reduced activity relative to the sibling and typical groups. This underactivity was localised to the left IFG, the right putamen, and to the STS/G bilaterally. Furthermore, lateralisation, clearly left in the sibling and typical groups, was reduced in the SLI group.