Dr Nicole Neef | The neural control of speech fluency – where stop meets go

Developmental stuttering is a speech fluency disorder with a complex neural basis. There is evidence for disconnection of speech-relevant fiber tracts but also for an impairment of both the dopamine system and the cerebral dominance. Those observations form the basis of the principal hypotheses for stuttering as a sporadic failure to produce precisely timed speech movements. However, for decades these hypotheses stand without much advance towards a mechanistic explanation on how pathophysiology causes concrete stuttering symptoms. Driven by our own recent work, which combines neuroimaging, and innovative quantitative meta-analyses and transcranial magnetic stimulation, we propose a hyperactive response suppression mechanism. We will specify macro-circuit physiology and organization specific to the central speech system to provide a unifying theory that incorporates all robust neural signatures of stuttering in a single framework. This will provide a road map for future research to truly understand the neural basis of speech flow in health and diseased state.

Poster