Simulating the neural correlates of stuttering

Abstract

For functional neuroimaging studies of stuttering, two challenges are (1) the elicitation of naturally stuttered versus fluent speech and (2) the separation of activation associated with abnormal motor execution from activation that reflects the cognitive substrates of stuttering. This paper reports on a proof-of-concept study, in which a single-subject approach was applied to address these two issues. A stuttering speaker used his insight into his own stuttering behavior to create a list of stutter-prone words versus a list of “fluent” words. He was then matched to a non-stuttering speaker, who imitated the specific articulatory and orofacial motor pattern of the stuttering speaker. Both study participants performed a functional MRI experiment of single word reading, each being presented with the same lexical items. Results suggest that the generally observed right-hemisphere lateralization appears to reflect a true neural correlate of stuttering. Some of the classically reported activation associated with stuttering appears to be driven more by nonspecific motor patterns than by cognitive substrates of stuttering, while anterior cingulate activation may reflect awareness of (upcoming) dysfluencies. This study shows that it is feasible to match stuttering speakers’ utterances more closely to simulated stutters for the investigation of neural correlates of real stuttering. Significant main effects and contrast effects were obtained for the differences between fluent and stuttered speech, and right-hemisphere lateralization associated with real stuttered speech was shown in a single subject.