Neural recruitment associated with anomia treatment in aphasia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the spatial distribution of cortical activity associated with anomia treatment in three persons with aphasia. Participants underwent three fMRI sessions before and after a period of intensive language treatment focused on object naming. The results revealed bilateral hemispheric recruitment associated with improved ability to name items targeted in treatment. This is the first study to employ multiple pre- and post-treatment fMRI sessions in the study of treatment-induced recovery from aphasia and has implications for future studies of brain plasticity in stroke.