Functional mapping in PD and PSP for sustained phonation and phoneme tasks

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Speech Science

Background:

• Articulatory speech disorders are common in Parkinsonian syndromes.
• Understanding the neural underpinnings is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the central basis of speech disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Main Methods:

• fMRI scans were performed on 22 PD patients and 18 PSP patients during sustained phonation and phoneme tasks.
• Clinical evaluation of speech dysfunction was conducted.
• Data analysis involved SPM2 for individual and group comparisons with healthy controls.

Main Results:

• PD patients showed superior temporal gyrus activation during sustained phonation and lingual gyrus recruitment for phoneme tasks, indicating compensatory mechanisms.
• PSP patients exhibited occipital cortex activation and strong lingual gyrus activation, with reduced primary area activation and recruitment of remote cortical areas, suggesting widespread dysfunction.
• Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) patients were excluded due to excessive motion artifacts.

Conclusions:

• In PD, executive fronto-striatal network failure may lead to compensatory activation in other brain regions.
• In PSP, findings suggest a more generalized cortical dysfunction impacting speech articulation.