Scientists identify brain network linked to stuttering

New Delhi, May 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) An international team of scientists from Finland, Canada, the United States and New Zealand has discovered a specific brain network center that plays a key role in stuttering, an advancement that may lead to new treatment options. .

The research, published in the journal Brain, examines two different types of stuttering: developmental and acquired.

Although the two types are traditionally known to be distinct, the study showed that in addition to “similarities at the behavioral level, there are also similarities at the neural level.”

“Stuttering affects about 1 percent of adults and can lead to significant communication problems and social anxiety, but the cause of stuttering is still unknown,” said lead author Catherine Theys, an associate professor at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

The professor explained that although stuttering is a developmental disorder, it can also be caused by focal brain damage following a stroke or other neurological disorders.

For the study, the team used two datasets and lesion network mapping to test whether the lesions causing acquired stuttering corresponded to a common brain network. They also used a third dataset to test whether this lesion-based network was relevant to developmental stuttering.

By analyzing each dataset, the team located a common stuttering network – a specific part of the left putamen, responsible for lip and facial movements, as well as speech timing and sequencing.

They also identified two additional areas of interest for research into speech imagery and stuttering: the claustrum and the amygdalostriatal transition zone.

“These are tiny areas of the brain – only a few mm wide – which is why they have not typically been identified in previous studies. This shows a plausible network for stuttering,” they said, adding that the results are relevant for treatment.

Source: IANS