Brain anatomy differences in Chinese children who stutter: a preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Speech and Language Pathology

Background:

• The neural mechanisms underlying developmental stuttering (DS) remain largely unknown.
• Understanding brain structure alterations in children who stutter is crucial for identifying underlying causes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate structural brain morphology changes in Chinese children with developmental stuttering.
• To analyze differences in gray matter volume and cortical morphology between children who stutter and their typically developing peers.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study design was employed.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were collected from 108 children (54 stuttering, 54 controls).
• Whole-brain gray matter volume and cortical morphological analyses were performed.

Main Results:

• Children who stutter exhibited significantly decreased gray matter volume in the right temporal gyrus and bilateral cerebellum compared to controls.
• A significant reduction in cortical folds was observed in the right insula and right superior temporal gyrus of children who stutter.
• Gray matter volume in the right cerebellum and right temporal gyrus correlated with stuttering severity.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest that developmental stuttering is associated with structural brain alterations within the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loop and dorsal language pathway.
• These neuroanatomical findings provide a foundation for understanding the neural basis of DS.
• The results are expected to offer valuable insights for the clinical treatment of developmental stuttering.