Restoration of speech articulatory control and functional connectivity through visually-guided rehabilitation in...

Computer-based therapy has shown promise in speech rehabilitation for individuals with language disorders. In this study, we investigated behavioural, acoustic and brain network changes in a patient with chronic non-fluent aphasia who underwent an enriched rehabilitation programme, combining the Ultraspeech-player software with conventional speech therapy, followed by a period of conventional therapy alone. The software provided visualisation of articulatory movements recorded from a reference speaker. Comprehensive assessments, conducted before and after each rehabilitation period, included perceptual and acoustic analyses of speech production and brain network measures. Data were compared with normative values from healthy older participants (N = 16). Results showed (i) changes in articulatory configuration after enriched rehabilitation, with partial maintenance after conventional therapy; and (ii) normalisation of right intra-hemispheric functional connectivity and restoration of the integration-segregation balance. This study provides a multimodal characterisation of recovery-related changes, showing how articulatory control and large-scale network organisation may reorganise following rehabilitation.