Functional MRI evidence for fine motor praxis dysfunction in children with persistent speech disorders

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Persistent speech disorders (PSD) in children are often associated with motor deficits, but the underlying neurological connections are not well understood.
• Investigating shared neurological bases for speech and motor impairments is crucial for understanding developmental disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine brain network differences in fine motor control between children with PSD and typically developing children using functional MRI (fMRI).
• To explore the relationship between motor skill performance and brain activation patterns in children with PSD.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 12 children with PSD and 12 controls, aged approximately 7.4 years.
• Behavioral assessments of motor skills and functional abilities, alongside fMRI scanning during a cued finger tapping task.
• General linear model and regression analyses to compare brain activation and correlate it with motor performance.

Main Results:

• Children with PSD exhibited significantly lower performance in rapid speech production and fine motor praxis compared to controls.
• fMRI revealed significantly greater cerebellar activation in children with PSD during the finger tapping task.
• Positive correlations were found between fine motor praxis performance and activation in multiple cortical regions for children with PSD.

Conclusions:

• Children with PSD may have subtle abnormalities in non-speech motor neural circuitry, indicated by over-activation in the cerebellum during motor tasks.
• These findings suggest a potential shared neurological origin for speech and motor deficits in children with PSD.