OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the definable topospecific relationship between functional neuroactivation measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and chemostructural tissue measurements made with 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H-NMRSI) in patients with newly diagnosed brain tumors situated in the vicinity of the brain's language and motor regions. II. Determine if clinical improvement correlates with stronger imaging signatures of neuroactivation on fMRI in this patient population. III. Determine if functional loss during tumor recurrence or progression correlates with increases in choline and decreases in N-acetylaspartate on 1H-NMRSI in regions that previously displayed activation on fMRI or in associated underlying white matter regions in these patients.