Aphasia recovery via speech therapy related to structural plasticity of the ventral stream

(Medical University of South Carolina) Strengthening the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) via speech therapy is associated with significant semantic error reductions in aphasic stroke patients, report Medical University of South Carolina investigators in an article published online June 19, 2017 by Annals of Neurology. These findings suggest that speech recovery is related to the structural plasticity of the residual language network, that semantic skills are integrated by the ILF and that strengthening the ILF is possible with therapy.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news