Researchers at HSE Centre for Language and Brain Reveal Key Factors Determining Language Recovery in Patients After Brain Tumour Resection
Alina Minnigulova and Maria Khudyakova at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain have presented the latest research findings on the linguistic and neural mechanisms of language impairments and their progression in patients following neurosurgery. The scientists shared insights gained from over five years of research on the dynamics of language impairment and recovery.
The surgical removal of brain tumours located near language areas can result in various postoperative language disorders. Typically, language functions recover in the immediate postoperative period; however, two out of three patients may experience disorders in the chronic phase.
To understand the dynamics of language impairments and recovery after tumour resection, scientists at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain in Moscow and the Centre for Language and Brain Studies in Nizhny Novgorod have been assessing patients using the Russian Aphasia Test (RAT) at three key time points: before surgery, a few days post-surgery, and three to four months later.
By comparing comprehensive language test results with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, it was possible to evaluate the importance of specific grey and white matter areas for language function.
The researchers examined how well key clinical factors—such as postoperative declines in language processing, tumour malignancy, resection volume and location, and the use of intraoperative language mapping—can predict long-term language recovery after surgery. Beyond predicting overall recovery, the researchers identified the brain regions involved in language processing that are most vulnerable to persistent deficits.
Maria Khudyakova, Director of the Centre for Language and Brain Studies at the HSE Campus in Nizhny Novgorod, studied the postoperative restoration of both comprehension and production of individual words: nouns and verbs.
'By testing the comprehension and production of nouns and verbs, we expected to observe a significant decline in performance on all tasks immediately after surgery, followed by a substantial improvement three to four months later. It was interesting to note that while the comprehension and production of nouns did not fully recover to preoperative levels, verbs—terms denoting actions—and the comprehension of all words were restored,' according to Khudyakova.
Maria Khudyakova added that although object naming had not fully recovered to its preoperative level, the naming rate for objects that were correctly identified had increased, meaning they were named more quickly.
Alina Minnigulova, Research Fellow at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain in Moscow, has participated in surgeries since 2017, initially testing patients in Nizhny Novgorod. In 2020, she joined a neurosurgical project in Moscow, which included a study on predictors of language recovery.
‘In 2024, we completed a five-year study on the impact of clinical and behavioural characteristics on language recovery in patients following the resection of glial tumours in the left hemisphere after a delay of three to six months,' explains Minnigulova. 'We found that smaller declines in language test scores and awake surgery involving brain mapping and speech monitoring both predict better language recovery in patients three to six months after surgery.'
Additionally, the scientists determined that verbal working memory and vocabulary retrieval, in particular verbs, are most vulnerable to persistent deficits.
'This study has been completed, but we continue to work with the neurosurgical population, investigating the neural correlations of language disorders, lateralisation, and the specification of language functions,' says Minnigulova.