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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Aberrant auditory processing and atypical planum temporale in developmental stuttering.
A L Foundas1, A M Bollich, J Feldman
1Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, 1440 Canal Street TB52, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. foundas@tulane.edu
Neurology
|November 10, 2004
Summary
Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) improved speech fluency in adults with developmental stuttering who had atypical auditory cortex anatomy. This finding suggests anomalous planum temporale (PT) anatomy may be a risk factor for stuttering.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Speech and Hearing Science
Background:
- Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) is known to improve fluency in some individuals who stutter.
- Anatomical variations in the planum temporale (PT), a region of the auditory cortex, are observed in some adults who stutter.
- Atypical PT anatomy may lead to altered auditory processing, potentially explaining varied responses to DAF.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between atypical auditory temporal cortex anatomy and fluency changes induced by DAF in adults with persistent developmental stuttering.
- To compare the effects of DAF on fluency in individuals with typical versus atypical PT asymmetry.
Main Methods:
- 14 adults with developmental stuttering and 14 age- and sex-matched controls participated.
- Volumetric MRI scans were used to measure PT asymmetry, classifying subjects as having typical (leftward) or atypical (rightward) asymmetry.
- Speech fluency was assessed at baseline, with non-altered feedback (NAF), and with DAF.
Main Results:
- Adults who stutter were significantly more dysfluent than controls at baseline.
- DAF significantly improved fluency in adults with developmental stuttering, but not in controls.
- Enhanced fluency with DAF was specifically observed in stuttering subjects with atypical (rightward) PT asymmetry, who also exhibited more severe stuttering at baseline.
Conclusions:
- Atypical PT anatomy is associated with improved fluency under DAF in adults with developmental stuttering.
- The severity of stuttering at baseline was greater in individuals with atypical PT asymmetry who benefited from DAF.
- Anomalous PT anatomy may represent a neural risk factor for developmental stuttering, and DAF could be a compensatory treatment strategy.
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