Xiawei Ou1,2, Jeffrey H. Snow3,
John J. Hall3, Amy Byerly3, Charles M. Glasier1
1Department of Radiology,
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States; 2Radiology,
Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR, United States; 3Department
of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR,
United States
FMRI studies on adolescents with spina bifida revealed lack of activation in the frontal lobe for a response inhibition task, suggesting poor frontal lobe functions for this population. In addition, normal adolescents had bilateral brain activation while adolescents with spina bifida had primarily right hemisphere activation. This pattern was present in both posterior brain regions and frontal lobes, and may indicate decreased left hemisphere functioning in adolescents with spina bifida.