DTI tractography for children with hearing loss or developmental language impairment

• Published in: Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Japan Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 31 - 36
• Main Authors: Niitsuma, Yukie, Masuda, Shin, Murakami, Tomonori, Okimoto, Tomoaki, Yamada, Asami, Fukushima, Noriyuki, Katsuda, Yuuko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Society for Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 2009; 日本小児耳鼻咽喉科学会
• Subjects: children; developmental language impairment; DTI tractography; hearing impairment; tractography; 小児; 拡散テンソル法; 言語発達障害; 難聴
• ISSN: 0919-5858; 2186-5957
• DOI: 10.11374/shonijibi.30.31

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography was used to evaluate five children with hearing loss or impaired language development. Our first case involved a 5-year-old boy with unilateral hearing loss apparently due to callosal disconnect. The second case involved a 10-year-old girl with developmental Gerstmann syndrome. The third, fourth, and final cases involved 3 children who experienced difficulty acquiring the ability to read Japanese kana characters. Each image depicted on DTI tractography was compatible with the results of neuropsychological testing. Thus, DTI tractography is suitable for clinical use in pediatric audiology and logopedics. Because results from DTI tractography are unchanged even if the subject is sedated, DTI tractography offers advantages over functional magnetic resonance imaging for young children.