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Investigation of Risperidone Treatment Associated With Enhanced Brain Activity in Patients Who Stutter.
Gerald A Maguire1, Bo Ram Yoo1, Shahriar SheikhBahaei2
1School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
|March 1, 2021
Summary
Risperidone treatment increased brain metabolism in key areas like the left striatum and Broca's area for adults who stutter. This finding supports the role of dopamine in stuttering and suggests a potential therapeutic mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Stuttering is a childhood-onset fluency disorder impacting speech.
- Previous research suggests elevated dopamine activity and striatal hypometabolism in stuttering.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of risperidone on brain metabolism in adults with stuttering.
- To explore the potential role of dopamine receptor antagonism in stuttering pathophysiology.
Main Methods:
- Randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study with 10 adult subjects.
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scans using [18F]deoxyglucose to measure brain metabolism.
- Baseline and post-treatment scans after 6 weeks of risperidone (0.5-2.0 mg/day) or placebo during a reading task.
Main Results:
- No significant baseline differences between risperidone and placebo groups.
- Risperidone treatment significantly increased glucose uptake in the left striatum (caudate, putamen) and Broca's area (p < 0.05).
- These findings suggest risperidone enhances metabolism in brain regions implicated in stuttering.
Conclusions:
- Risperidone treatment is associated with increased brain metabolism in adults who stutter.
- The study supports the hypothesis of dopaminergic involvement in stuttering.
- Neuroimaging reveals potential therapeutic mechanisms for risperidone in stuttering, possibly involving striatal astrocytes.
