Brain, Vol. 123, No. 10, 1985-2004,
October 2000
© 2000 Oxford University Press
Brain correlates of stuttering and syllable production
A PET performance-correlation analysis
1 The Research Imaging Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas and 2 The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Correspondence to:
Dr Peter Fox, Research Imaging Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive MSC: 6240, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA E-mail: fox{at}uthscsa.edu
To distinguish the neural systems of normal speech from those of stuttering, PET images of brain blood flow were probed (correlated voxel-wise) with per-trial speech-behaviour scores obtained during PET imaging. Two cohorts were studied: 10 right-handed men who stuttered and 10 right-handed, age- and sex-matched non-stuttering controls. Ninety PET blood flow images were obtained in each cohort (nine per subject as three trials of each of three conditions) from which r-value statistical parametric images (SPI{r}) were computed. Brain correlates of stutter rate and syllable rate showed striking differences in both laterality and sign (i.e. positive or negative correlations). Stutter-rate correlates, both positive and negative, were strongly lateralized to the right cerebral and left cerebellar hemispheres. Syllable correlates in both cohorts were bilateral, with a bias towards the left cerebral and right cerebellar hemispheres, in keeping with the left-cerebral dominance for language and motor skills typical of right-handed subjects. For both stutters and syllables, the brain regions that were correlated positively were those of speech production: the mouth representation in the primary motor cortex; the supplementary motor area; the inferior lateral premotor cortex (Broca's area); the anterior insula; and the cerebellum. The principal difference between syllable-rate and stutter-rate positive correlates was hemispheric laterality. A notable exception to this rule was that cerebellar positive correlates for syllable rate were far more extensive in the stuttering cohort than in the control cohort, which suggests a specific role for the cerebellum in enabling fluent utterances in persons who stutter. Stutters were negatively correlated with right-cerebral regions (superior and middle temporal gyrus) associated with auditory perception and processing, regions which were positively correlated with syllables in both the stuttering and control cohorts. These findings support long-held theories that the brain correlates of stuttering are the speech-motor regions of the non-dominant (right) cerebral hemisphere, and extend this theory to include the non-dominant (left) cerebellar hemisphere. The present findings also indicate a specific role of the cerebellum in the fluent utterances of persons who stutter. Support is also offered for theories that implicate auditory processing problems in stuttering.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  C. Weber-Fox and A. Hampton Stuttering and Natural Speech Processing of Semantic and Syntactic Constraints on Verbs J Speech Lang Hear Res, October 1, 2008; 51(5): 1058 - 1071. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. G. Millichap Etiology and Treatment of Developmental Stuttering AAP Grand Rounds, April 1, 2008; 19(4): 42 - 42. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. D. Cykowski, P. V. Kochunov, R. J. Ingham, J. C. Ingham, J.-F. Mangin, D. Riviere, J. L. Lancaster, and P. T. Fox Perisylvian Sulcal Morphology and Cerebral Asymmetry Patterns in Adults Who Stutter Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2008; 18(3): 571 - 583. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. E. Watkins, S. M. Smith, S. Davis, and P. Howell Structural and functional abnormalities of the motor system in developmental stuttering Brain, January 1, 2008; 131(1): 50 - 59. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Ward The aetiology and treatment of developmental stammering in childhood Arch. Dis. Child., January 1, 2008; 93(1): 68 - 71. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. F. Huber, K. Bradley, B. Spiegler, and M. Dennis Long-Term Neuromotor Speech Deficits in Survivors of Childhood Posterior Fossa Tumors: Effects of Tumor Type, Radiation, Age at Diagnosis, and Survival Years J Child Neurol, July 1, 2007; 22(7): 848 - 854. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Godinho, R. J. Ingham, J. Davidow, and J. Cotton The distribution of phonated intervals in the speech of individuals who stutter. J Speech Lang Hear Res, February 1, 2006; 49(1): 161 - 171. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Tutuncuoglu, G. Serdaroglu, and B. Kadoglu Landau-Kleffner Syndrome Beginning With Stuttering: Case Report J Child Neurol, October 1, 2002; 17(10): 785 - 788. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. C. Blank, S. K. Scott, K. Murphy, E. Warburton, and R. J. S. Wise Speech production: Wernicke, Broca and beyond Brain, August 1, 2002; 125(8): 1829 - 1838. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Brain Correlates of Stuttering: Cause or Consequence? Journal Watch Neurology, June 8, 2001; 2001(608): 6 - 6. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. L. Ludlow Stuttering: dysfunction in a complex and dynamic system Brain, October 1, 2000; 123(10): 1983 - 1984. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|