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The Neurobiological Grounding of Persistent Stuttering: from Structure to Function

  • Neuroimaging (DJ Brooks, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Neuroimaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation provide insights into the neuronal mechanisms underlying speech disfluencies in chronic persistent stuttering. In the present paper, the goal is not to provide an exhaustive review of existing literature, but rather to highlight robust findings. We, therefore, conducted a meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging studies which have recently implicated disrupted white matter connectivity in stuttering. A reduction of fractional anisotropy in persistent stuttering has been reported at several different loci. Our meta-analysis revealed consistent deficits in the left dorsal stream and in the interhemispheric connections between the sensorimotor cortices. In addition, recent fMRI meta-analyses link stuttering to reduced left fronto-parieto-temporal activation while greater fluency is associated with boosted co-activations of right fronto-parieto-temporal areas. However, the physiological foundation of these irregularities is not accessible with MRI. Complementary, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) reveals local excitatory and inhibitory regulation of cortical dynamics. Applied to a speech motor area, TMS revealed reduced speech-planning-related neuronal dynamics at the level of the primary motor cortex in stuttering. Together, this review provides a focused view of the neurobiology of stuttering to date and may guide the rational design of future research. This future needs to account for the perpetual dynamic interactions between auditory, somatosensory, and speech motor circuits that shape fluent speech.

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Abbreviations

AF:

Arcuate fasciculus

ALE:

Activation likelihood estimation

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

FA:

Fractional anisotropy

FDR:

False discovery rate

IFG:

Inferior frontal gyrus

IPL:

Inferior parietal lobe

M1:

Primary motor cortex

MEP:

Motor evoked potential

MFG:

Middle frontal gyrus

MTG:

Middle temporal gyrus

SLF:

Superior longitudinal fasciculus

SMA:

Supplementary motor area

SMG:

Supramarginal gyrus

SPL:

Superior parietal lobe

STG:

Superior temporal gyrus

TBSS:

Tract-based spatial statistics

TMS:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

VBS:

Voxel-based statistics

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Acknowledgments

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (NE1841/1-1) supported Nicole E. Neef.

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Conflict of Interest

Nicole E. Neef, Alfred Anwander, and Angela D. Friederici declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Nicole E. Neef, Alfred Anwander & Angela D. Friederici

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  1. Nicole E. Neef
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  2. Alfred Anwander
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  3. Angela D. Friederici
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Correspondence to Nicole E. Neef.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Neuroimaging

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Neef, N.E., Anwander, A. & Friederici, A.D. The Neurobiological Grounding of Persistent Stuttering: from Structure to Function. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 15, 63 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-015-0579-4

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