Combined Fmri and MRI Movie in the Evaluation of Articulation in Subjects With and Without Cleft Lip and Palate

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doi: 10.1597/07-070
The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal: Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 309–314.

Combined Fmri and MRI Movie in the Evaluation of Articulation in Subjects With and Without Cleft Lip and Palate

Michiru Sato-Wakabayashi, D.D.S.
Maristela Sayuri Inoue-Arai, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Takashi Ono, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Ei-ichi Honda, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Tohru Kurabayashi, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Keiji Moriyama, D.D.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Sato-Wakabayashi is a graduate student, Maxillofacial Orthognathics, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Inoue is Postdoctoral Fellow, Maxillofacial Orthognathics, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Ono is Lecturer, Maxillofacial Orthognathics, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Honda is Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Graduate School, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, and Lecturer, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Kurabayashi is Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Moriyama is Professor, Maxillofacial Orthognathics, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.

Objective: This study was undertaken to explore the application of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and MRI movies in the evaluation of articulatory function in subjects with and without cleft lip and palate (CLP).
Design: The authors examined brain activation and the dynamic movement of articulators during bilabial and velar plosives using fMRI and MRI movies.
Subjects: Two subjects, one with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and one with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), and 12 non-CLP volunteers.
Results: Activation foci were found in the precentral gyrus, thalamus, and cerebellum in non-CLP volunteers. In comparison, similar regions were activated in the UCLP subject during both plosives, whereas the regions activated in the BCLP subject were different, particularly during the velar plosive. The dynamic movement of articulators in the UCLP subject was comparable to that in a non-CLP volunteer but different from that in the BCLP subject.
Conclusions: The results suggest that these two MRI modalities may be a promising evaluation methodology for articulatory function in CLP from central and peripheral perspectives.

KEY WORDS: articulation, plosive, cleft lip and palate, functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance imaging movie

Submitted May 2007; Accepted September 2007.