An international group of scientists from Finland, Canada, the US, and New Zealand has identified a specific brain network hub linked to stuttering, potentially leading to new treatment methods.
This research, featured in the Brain journal, explores two forms of stuttering: developmental and acquired. Although these types are typically considered distinct, the study revealed that, besides “similarities at the behavioral level, there are also similarities at the neural level.”
“Stuttering affects approximately 1 percent of adults and can result in significant communication problems and social anxiety, yet the cause of stuttering is still unknown,” said lead author Catherine Theys, Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
They also discovered two additional regions of interest for speech imaging and stuttering research
The professor noted that stuttering, while generally a developmental disorder, can also result from focal brain damage due to a stroke or other neurological conditions. In the study, the team utilized two datasets and lesion network mapping to determine if lesions causing acquired stuttering align with a common brain network.
They also employed a third dataset to assess if this lesion-based network is pertinent to developmental stuttering. Upon analyzing each dataset, the researchers identified a common stuttering network –—pecific region of the left putamen, responsible for lip and face movements, as well as the timing and sequencing of speech. They also discovered two additional regions of interest for speech imaging and stuttering research –:e claustrum and amygdalostriatal transition area. “These are tiny areas of the brain — only a few mm wide — which is why they may typically not have been identified in previous studies. This shows a plausible network for stuttering,” they said, adding that these findings are significant for treatment.