Cerebral and cerebellar language organization in a right-handed subject with a left temporal porencephalic cyst: An fMRI study Mattias De Coninck a , Wim Van Hecke b , Roel Crols c , Kim van Dun g , Debby Van Dam a , Peter P. De Deyn a, c, d, e , Marc Brysbaert f , Peter Mari € en c, g, * a Laboratory of Neurochemistry & Behavior, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium b Icometrix, Leuven, Belgium c ZNA-Middelheim General Hospital, Department of Neurology and Memory Clinic, Hospital Network Antwerp (ZNA) Middelheim, Antwerp, Belgium d Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Research Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), The Netherlands e Biobank, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Belgium f Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium g Clinical and Experimental Neurolinguistics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium article info Article history: Received 2 April 2015 Received in revised form 22 July 2015 Accepted 17 August 2015 Available online xxx Keywords: Porencephaly Bilateral Language Dominance Cerebro-cerebellar network abstract To test the hypothesis of crossed cerebro-cerebellar language dominance (Mari€ en, Engel- borghs, Fabbro, & De Deyn, 2001) in atypical populations, the pattern of cerebral and cerebellar language organization in a right-handed woman with a large porencephalic cyst in the left temporal lobe with no secondary clinical neurological symptoms was studied by means of an fMRI-language paradigm. Extensive neuropsychological examinations were performed to formally rule out cognitive dysfunctions. The fMRI task, consisting of a covert controlled oral word generation task, disclosed a pattern of bilateral activity in the frontal language areas, slightly more pronounced in the left hemisphere, and unilateral activation of the left inferior and superior temporal and supramarginal gyrus. This pattern of supratentorial activations was reflected at the infratentorial level by bilateral activations in the posterior lobe of the cerebellum with slightly more activity located in the right cere- bellar hemisphere. This pattern of bilateral cerebral and cerebellar activation seems to confirm that the distribution of supratentorial language dominance is intrinsically re- flected at the level of the cerebellum. Bilateral frontal language representation might be the consequence of neurofunctional compensation for the structural anomaly affecting eloquent brain regions resulting in an operational inefficiency of the neural network subserving language in the left hemisphere. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. ZNA-Middelheim General Hospital, Department of Neurology and Memory Clinic, Lindendreef 1, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. E-mail addresses: mattias.deconinck@uantwerpen.be (M. De Coninck), wim.vanhecke@icometrix.com (W. Van Hecke), roel.crols@zna.be (R. Crols), kimvandun@gmail.com (K. van Dun), debby.vandam@uantwerpen.be (D. Van Dam), peter.dedeyn@uantwerpen.be (P.P. De Deyn), marc.brysbaert@ugent.be (M. Brysbaert), peter.marien5@telenet.be (P. Mari€ en). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Neurolinguistics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jneuroling http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2015.08.004 0911-6044/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Neurolinguistics 37 (2016) 41e46