Relation between functional connectivity and rhythm discrimination in children who do and do not stutter

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Rhythmic pattern perception is crucial for human abilities like music, language, and motor coordination.
• Individual differences in auditory rhythm discrimination are linked to brain activity.
• Children who stutter often show deficits in rhythm perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between brain network functional connectivity and auditory rhythm discrimination in children.
• To determine if children who stutter have weaker functional connectivity within the basal ganglia-thalamocortical rhythm network.
• To examine the relationship between rhythm network connectivity and rhythm discrimination abilities in children who stutter.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure functional connectivity in the rhythm network.
• Auditory rhythm-discrimination task to assess behavioral performance using signal detection analysis.
• Comparison of functional connectivity and behavioral data between typically developing children and children who stutter.

Main Results:

• Typically developing children showed an association between rhythm network functional connectivity and rhythm discrimination performance.
• Children who stutter demonstrated weaker rhythm network functional connectivity compared to typically developing peers.
• The relationship between rhythm network connectivity and rhythm discrimination was attenuated in children who stutter.

Conclusions:

• Children who stutter have diminished functional connectivity within the rhythm network.
• The lack of a clear link between rhythm network connectivity and rhythm discrimination may contribute to the underlying causes of stuttering.
• These findings highlight the role of neural network function in rhythm processing and its implications for speech fluency.