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Curtis M, Bayat M, Garic D, Alfano AR, Hernandez M, Curzon M, Bejarano A, Tremblay P, Graziano P, Dick AS. Structural Development of Speech Networks in Young Children at Risk for Speech Disorder. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.23.609470. [PMID: 39229017 PMCID: PMC11370569 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.23.609470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
Characterizing the structural development of the neural speech network in early childhood is important for understanding speech acquisition. To investigate speech in the developing brain, 94 children aged 4-7-years-old at risk for early speech disorder were scanned using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Additionally, each child completed the Syllable Repetition Task (SRT), a validated measure of phoneme articulation. The DWI data were modeled using multi-compartment restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) to measure restricted and hindered diffusion properties in both grey and white matter. Consequently, we analyzed the diffusion data using both whole brain analysis, and automated fiber quantification (AFQ) analysis to establish tract profiles for each of six fiber pathways thought to be important for supporting speech development. In the whole brain analysis, we found that SRT performance was associated with restricted diffusion in bilateral inferior frontal gyrus ( pars opercularis ), right pre-supplementary/ supplementary motor area (pre-SMA/SMA), and bilateral cerebellar grey matter ( p < .005). Age moderated these associations in left pars opercularis and frontal aslant tract (FAT). However, in both cases only the cerebellar findings survived a cluster correction. We also found associations between SRT performance and restricted diffusion in cortical association fiber pathways, especially left FAT, and in the cerebellar peduncles. Analyses using automatic fiber quantification (AFQ) highlighted differences in high and low performing children along specific tract profiles, most notably in left but not right FAT. These findings suggest that individual differences in speech performance are reflected in structural gray and white matter differences as measured by restricted and hindered diffusion metrics, and offer important insights into developing brain networks supporting speech in very young children.
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2
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Asaridou SS, Cler GJ, Wiedemann A, Krishnan S, Smith HJ, Willis HE, Healy MP, Watkins KE. Microstructural Properties of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Children With Developmental Language Disorder. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2024; 5:774-794. [PMID: 39175782 PMCID: PMC11338306 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) struggle to learn their native language for no apparent reason. While research on the neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder has focused on the role of corticostriatal systems, little is known about the role of the cerebellum in DLD. Corticocerebellar circuits might be involved in the disorder as they contribute to complex sensorimotor skill learning, including the acquisition of spoken language. Here, we used diffusion-weighted imaging data from 77 typically developing and 54 children with DLD and performed probabilistic tractography to identify the cerebellum's white matter tracts: the inferior, middle, and superior cerebellar peduncles. Children with DLD showed lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the inferior cerebellar peduncles (ICP), fiber tracts that carry motor and sensory input via the inferior olive to the cerebellum. Lower FA in DLD was driven by lower axial diffusivity. Probing this further with more sophisticated modeling of diffusion data, we found higher orientation dispersion but no difference in neurite density in the ICP of children with DLD. Reduced FA is therefore unlikely to be reflecting microstructural differences in myelination, rather the organization of axons in these pathways is disrupted. ICP microstructure was not associated with language or motor coordination performance in our sample. We also found no differences in the middle and superior peduncles, the main pathways connecting the cerebellum with the cortex. To conclude, it is not corticocerebellar but atypical olivocerebellar white matter connections that characterize DLD and suggest the involvement of the olivocerebellar system in speech and language acquisition and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salomi S. Asaridou
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Gabriel J. Cler
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Anna Wiedemann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Saloni Krishnan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Surrey, UK
| | - Harriet J. Smith
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Hanna E. Willis
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Máiréad P. Healy
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Kate E. Watkins
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Jobson KR, Hoffman LJ, Metoki A, Popal H, Dick AS, Reilly J, Olson IR. Language and the Cerebellum: Structural Connectivity to the Eloquent Brain. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2024; 5:652-675. [PMID: 39175788 PMCID: PMC11338303 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
Neurobiological models of receptive language have focused on the left-hemisphere perisylvian cortex with the assumption that the cerebellum supports peri-linguistic cognitive processes such as verbal working memory. The goal of this study was to identify language-sensitive regions of the cerebellum then map the structural connectivity profile of these regions. Functional imaging data and diffusion-weighted imaging data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) were analyzed. We found that (a) working memory, motor activity, and language comprehension activated partially overlapping but mostly unique subregions of the cerebellum; (b) the linguistic portion of the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit was more extensive than the linguistic portion of the cortico-ponto-cerebellar tract; (c) there was a frontal-lobe bias in the connectivity from the cerebellum to the cerebrum; (d) there was some degree of specificity; and (e) for some cerebellar tracts, individual differences in picture identification ability covaried with fractional anisotropy metrics. These findings yield insights into the structural connectivity of the cerebellum as relates to the uniquely human process of language comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie R. Jobson
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Linda J. Hoffman
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Athanasia Metoki
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Haroon Popal
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anthony S. Dick
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Jamie Reilly
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Speech and Language Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ingrid R. Olson
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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4
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Jossinger S, Yablonski M, Amir O, Ben-Shachar M. The Contributions of the Cerebellar Peduncles and the Frontal Aslant Tract in Mediating Speech Fluency. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2024; 5:676-700. [PMID: 39175785 PMCID: PMC11338307 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
Fluent speech production is a complex task that spans multiple processes, from conceptual framing and lexical access, through phonological encoding, to articulatory control. For the most part, imaging studies portraying the neural correlates of speech fluency tend to examine clinical populations sustaining speech impairments and focus on either lexical access or articulatory control, but not both. Here, we evaluated the contribution of the cerebellar peduncles to speech fluency by measuring the different components of the process in a sample of 45 neurotypical adults. Participants underwent an unstructured interview to assess their natural speaking rate and articulation rate, and completed timed semantic and phonemic fluency tasks to assess their verbal fluency. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging with probabilistic tractography was used to segment the bilateral cerebellar peduncles (CPs) and frontal aslant tract (FAT), previously associated with speech production in clinical populations. Our results demonstrate distinct patterns of white matter associations with different fluency components. Specifically, verbal fluency is associated with the right superior CP, whereas speaking rate is associated with the right middle CP and bilateral FAT. No association is found with articulation rate in these pathways, in contrast to previous findings in persons who stutter. Our findings support the contribution of the cerebellum to aspects of speech production that go beyond articulatory control, such as lexical access, pragmatic or syntactic generation. Further, we demonstrate that distinct cerebellar pathways dissociate different components of speech fluency in neurotypical speakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sivan Jossinger
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Maya Yablonski
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ofer Amir
- Department of Communication Disorders, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Michal Ben-Shachar
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- The Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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5
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Kenyon KH, Strik M, Noffs G, Morgan A, Kolbe S, Harding IH, Vogel AP, Boonstra FMC, van der Walt A. Volumetric and diffusion MRI abnormalities associated with dysarthria in multiple sclerosis. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae177. [PMID: 38846538 PMCID: PMC11154149 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Up to half of all people with multiple sclerosis experience communication difficulties due to dysarthria, a disorder that impacts the motor aspects of speech production. Dysarthria in multiple sclerosis is linked to cerebellar dysfunction, disease severity and lesion load, but the neuroanatomical substrates of these symptoms remain unclear. In this study, 52 participants with multiple sclerosis and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent structural and diffusion MRI, clinical assessment of disease severity and cerebellar dysfunction and a battery of motor speech tasks. Assessments of regional brain volume and white matter integrity, and their relationships with clinical and speech measures, were undertaken. White matter tracts of interest included the interhemispheric sensorimotor tract, cerebello-thalamo-cortical tract and arcuate fasciculus, based on their roles in motor and speech behaviours. Volumetric analyses were targeted to Broca's area, Wernicke's area, the corpus callosum, thalamus and cerebellum. Our results indicated that multiple sclerosis participants scored worse on all motor speech tasks. Fixel-based diffusion MRI analyses showed significant evidence of white matter tract atrophy in each tract of interest. Correlational analyses further indicated that higher speech naturalness-a perceptual measure of dysarthria-and lower reading rate were associated with axonal damage in the interhemispheric sensorimotor tract and left arcuate fasciculus in people with multiple sclerosis. Axonal damage in all tracts of interest also correlated with clinical scales sensitive to cerebellar dysfunction. Participants with multiple sclerosis had lower volumes of the thalamus and corpus callosum compared with controls, although no brain volumetrics correlated with measures of dysarthria. These findings indicate that axonal damage, particularly when measured using diffusion metrics, underpin dysarthria in multiple sclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine H Kenyon
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
- Centre for Neuroscience of Speech, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Myrte Strik
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy for Arts and Sciences, KNAW, Amsterdam 1105 BK, The Netherlands
- Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Gustavo Noffs
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
- Centre for Neuroscience of Speech, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Department of Neurology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Redenlab Inc, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Angela Morgan
- Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Genomic Medicine, Speech and Language Group, Parkville 3052, Australia
- Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3052, Australia
| | - Scott Kolbe
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Ian H Harding
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Adam P Vogel
- Centre for Neuroscience of Speech, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Redenlab Inc, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Division of Translational Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- Center for Neurology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
- The Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia
| | - Frederique M C Boonstra
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Anneke van der Walt
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy for Arts and Sciences, KNAW, Amsterdam 1105 BK, The Netherlands
- The Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia
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Asaridou SS, Cler GJ, Wiedemann A, Krishnan S, Smith HJ, Willis HE, Healy MP, Watkins KE. Microstructural Properties of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Children with Developmental Language Disorder. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.13.548858. [PMID: 37503009 PMCID: PMC10370025 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.13.548858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) struggle to learn their native language for no apparent reason. While research on the neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder has focused on the role of cortico-striatal systems, little is known about the role of the cerebellum in DLD. Cortico-cerebellar circuits might be involved in the disorder as they contribute to complex sensorimotor skill learning, including the acquisition of spoken language. Here, we used diffusion-weighted imaging data from 77 typically developing and 54 children with DLD and performed probabilistic tractography to identify the cerebellum's white matter tracts: the inferior, middle, and superior cerebellar peduncles. Children with DLD showed lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the inferior cerebellar peduncles (ICP), fiber tracts that carry motor and sensory input via the inferior olive to the cerebellum. Lower FA in DLD was driven by lower axial diffusivity. Probing this further with more sophisticated modeling of diffusion data, we found higher orientation dispersion but no difference in neurite density in the ICP of DLD. Reduced FA is therefore unlikely to be reflecting microstructural differences in myelination in this tract, rather the organization of axons in these pathways is disrupted. ICP microstructure was not associated with language or motor coordination performance in our sample. We also found no differences in the middle and superior peduncles, the main pathways connecting the cerebellum with the cortex. To conclude, it is not cortico-cerebellar but atypical olivocerebellar white matter connections that characterize DLD and suggest the involvement of the olivocerebellar system in speech acquisition and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salomi S. Asaridou
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Gabriel J. Cler
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Anna Wiedemann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Saloni Krishnan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Surrey, UK
| | - Harriet J. Smith
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Hanna E. Willis
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Máiréad P. Healy
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Kate E. Watkins
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Neef NE, Angstadt M, Koenraads SPC, Chang SE. Dissecting structural connectivity of the left and right inferior frontal cortex in children who stutter. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:4085-4100. [PMID: 36057839 PMCID: PMC10068293 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Inferior frontal cortex pars opercularis (IFCop) features a distinct cerebral dominance and vast functional heterogeneity. Left and right IFCop are implicated in developmental stuttering. Weak left IFCop connections and divergent connectivity of hyperactive right IFCop regions have been related to impeded speech. Here, we reanalyzed diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data from 83 children (41 stuttering). We generated connection probability maps of functionally segregated area 44 parcels and calculated hemisphere-wise analyses of variance. Children who stutter showed reduced connectivity of executive, rostral-motor, and caudal-motor corticostriatal projections from the left IFCop. We discuss this finding in the context of tracing studies from the macaque area 44, which leads to the need to reconsider current models of speech motor control. Unlike the left, the right IFCop revealed increased connectivity of the inferior posterior ventral parcel and decreased connectivity of the posterior dorsal parcel with the anterior insula, particularly in stuttering boys. This divergent connectivity pattern in young children adds to the debate on potential core deficits in stuttering and challenges the theory that right hemisphere differences might exclusively indicate compensatory changes that evolve from lifelong exposure. Instead, early right prefrontal connectivity differences may reflect additional brain signatures of aberrant cognition-emotion-action influencing speech motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E Neef
- Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mike Angstadt
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA
| | - Simone P C Koenraads
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CNRotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Soo-Eun Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, 1026 Red Cedar Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Cognitive Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, 846 Service Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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8
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Johnson CA, Liu Y, Waller N, Chang SE. Tract profiles of the cerebellar peduncles in children who stutter. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:1773-1787. [PMID: 35220486 PMCID: PMC9743081 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02471-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cerebellar-cortical loops comprise critical neural circuitry that supports self-initiated movements and motor adjustments in response to perceived errors, functions that are affected in stuttering. It is unknown whether structural aspects of cerebellar circuitry are affected in stuttering, particularly in children close to symptom onset. Here we examined white matter diffusivity characteristics of the three cerebellar peduncles (CPs) based on diffusion MRI (dMRI) data collected from 41 children who stutter (CWS) and 42 controls in the 3-11 years range. We hypothesized that CWS would exhibit decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right CPs given the contralateral connectivity of the cerebellar-cortical loops and past reports of structural differences in left cortical areas in stuttering speakers. Automatic Fiber Quantification (AFQ) was used to track and segment cerebellar white matter pathways and to extract diffusivity measures. We found significant group differences for FA in the right inferior CP (ICP) only: controls showed significantly higher FA in the right ventral ICP compared to CWS, controlling for age, sex, and verbal IQ. Furthermore, FA of right ICP was negatively correlated with stuttering frequency in CWS. These results suggest an early developmental difference in the right ICP for CWS compared to age-matched peers, which may indicate an alteration in error processing, a function previously linked to the ICP. Lower FA here may impact error monitoring and sensory input processing to guide motor corrections. Further longitudinal investigations in children may provide additional insights into how CP development links to stuttering persistence and recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea A Johnson
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Yanni Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Noah Waller
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Soo-Eun Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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Neef NE, Korzeczek A, Primaßin A, Wolff von Gudenberg A, Dechent P, Riedel CH, Paulus W, Sommer M. White matter tract strength correlates with therapy outcome in persistent developmental stuttering. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:3357-3374. [PMID: 35415866 PMCID: PMC9248304 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent stuttering is a prevalent neurodevelopmental speech disorder, which presents with involuntary speech blocks, sound and syllable repetitions, and sound prolongations. Affected individuals often struggle with negative feelings, elevated anxiety, and low self-esteem. Neuroimaging studies frequently link persistent stuttering with cortical alterations and dysfunctional cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical loops; dMRI data also point toward connectivity changes of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and the frontal aslant tract (FAT). Both tracts are involved in speech and language functions, and the FAT also supports inhibitory control and conflict monitoring. Whether the two tracts are involved in therapy-associated improvements and how they relate to therapeutic outcomes is currently unknown. Here, we analyzed dMRI data of 22 patients who participated in a fluency-shaping program, 18 patients not participating in therapy, and 27 fluent control participants, measured 1 year apart. We used diffusion tractography to segment the SLF and FAT bilaterally and to quantify their microstructural properties before and after a fluency-shaping program. Participants learned to speak with soft articulation, pitch, and voicing during a 2-week on-site boot camp and computer-assisted biofeedback-based daily training for 1 year. Therapy had no impact on the microstructural properties of the two tracts. Yet, after therapy, stuttering severity correlated positively with left SLF fractional anisotropy, whereas relief from the social-emotional burden to stutter correlated negatively with right FAT fractional anisotropy. Thus, posttreatment, speech motor performance relates to the left dorsal stream, while the experience of the adverse impact of stuttering relates to the structure recently associated with conflict monitoring and action inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E Neef
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Alexandra Korzeczek
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Annika Primaßin
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Fachbereich Gesundheit, FH Münster University of Applied Sciences, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Peter Dechent
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, MR Research in Neurosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christian Heiner Riedel
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Walter Paulus
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Martin Sommer
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Geriatrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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10
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Muncy NM, Kimbler A, Hedges-Muncy AM, McMakin DL, Mattfeld AT. General additive models address statistical issues in diffusion MRI: An example with clinically anxious adolescents. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 33:102937. [PMID: 35033812 PMCID: PMC8762458 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Statistical models employed to test for group differences in quantized diffusion-weighted MRI white matter tracts often fail to account for the large number of data points per tract in addition to the distribution, type, and interdependence of the data. To address these issues, we propose the use of Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and supply code and examples to aid in their implementation. Specifically, using diffusion data from 73 periadolescent clinically anxious and no-psychiatric-diagnosis control participants, we tested for group tract differences and show that a GAM allows for the identification of differences within a tract while accounting for the nature of the data as well as covariates and group factors. Further, we then used these tract differences to investigate their association with performance on a memory test. When comparing our high versus low anxiety groups, we observed a positive association between the left uncinate fasciculus and memory overgeneralization for negatively valenced stimuli. This same association was not evident in the right uncinate or anterior forceps. These findings illustrate that GAMs are well-suited for modeling diffusion data while accounting for various aspects of the data, and suggest that the adoption of GAMs will be a powerful investigatory tool for diffusion-weighted analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Muncy
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA.
| | - Adam Kimbler
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | | | - Dana L McMakin
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Aaron T Mattfeld
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
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11
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OUP accepted manuscript. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:4684-4697. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Jossinger S, Sares A, Zislis A, Sury D, Gracco V, Ben-Shachar M. White matter correlates of sensorimotor synchronization in persistent developmental stuttering. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2022; 95:106169. [PMID: 34856426 PMCID: PMC8821245 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2021.106169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Individuals with persistent developmental stuttering display deficits in aligning motor actions to external cues (i.e., sensorimotor synchronization). Diffusion imaging studies point to stuttering-associated differences in dorsal, not ventral, white matter pathways, and in the cerebellar peduncles. Here, we studied microstructural white matter differences between adults who stutter (AWS) and fluent speakers using two complementary approaches to: (a) assess previously reported group differences in white matter diffusivity, and (b) evaluate the relationship between white matter diffusivity and sensorimotor synchronization in each group. METHODS Participants completed a sensorimotor synchronization task and a diffusion MRI scan. We identified the cerebellar peduncles and major dorsal- and ventral-stream language pathways in each individual and assessed correlations between sensorimotor synchronization and diffusion measures along the tracts. RESULTS The results demonstrated group differences in dorsal, not ventral, language tracts, in alignment with prior reports. Specifically, AWS had significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left arcuate fasciculus, and significantly higher mean diffusivity (MD) in the bilateral frontal aslant tract compared to fluent speakers, while no significant group difference was detected in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. We also found significant group differences in both FA and MD of the left middle cerebellar peduncle. Comparing patterns of association with sensorimotor synchronization revealed a novel double dissociation: MD within the left inferior cerebellar peduncle was significantly correlated with mean asynchrony in AWS but not in fluent speakers, while FA within the left arcuate fasciculus was significantly correlated with mean asynchrony in fluent speakers, but not in AWS. CONCLUSIONS Our results support the view that stuttering involves altered connectivity in dorsal tracts and that AWS may rely more heavily on cerebellar tracts to process timing information. Evaluating microstructural associations with sensitive behavioral measures provides a powerful tool for discovering additional functional differences in the underlying connectivity in AWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sivan Jossinger
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
| | - Anastasia Sares
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | - Avital Zislis
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Dana Sury
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Vincent Gracco
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montréal, Canada; School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University, Montréal, Canada; Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Michal Ben-Shachar
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel; The Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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