Language Networks in Children: Evidence from Functional MRI Studies

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to review functional MRI and other neuroimaging studies of language skills in children from infancy to adulthood. CONCLUSION: Functional MRI (fMRI) and other neuroimaging studies show developmental changes in the networks of brain regions supporting language, which can be affected by brain injuries or neurologic disorders. Particular aspects of language rely on networks that lateralize to the dominant hemisphere; others rely on bilateral or nondominant mechanisms. Multiple fMRI tasks for pediatric patients characterize functional brain reorganization that may accompany language deficits.