Please cite this article as: Piispala, J., Mä ättä, S., Pä äkkönen, A., Bloigu, R., Kallio, M., Jansson-Verkasalo, E., Atypical brain activation in children who stutter in a visual Go/Nogo task: An ERP study, Clinical Neurophysiology (2016), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph. 2016.11.006 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Atypical brain activation in children who stutter in a visual Go/Nogo task: An ERP study Event related potential, Go/Nogo, children, stuttering, stimulus evaluation, inhibitory control. Highlights 1. Children with stutter (CWS) show atypical brain activation compared to typically developing children (TDC) in a visual Go/Nogo task especially in the right frontal area.2. CWS had prolonged N2 in both conditions while the Nogo P3 component was diminished compared to TDC.3. Stimulus classification and/or inhibitory control may operate abnormally in the CWS.
AbstractObjective: The aim of the study was to investigate inhibitory control by evaluating possible differences in the strength and distribution of the brain activity in a visual Go/Nogo task in children who stutter (CWS) compared to typically developing children (TDC).Methods: Eleven CWS and 19 TDC participated. Event related potentials (ERP) were recorded using a 64-channel EEG-cap during an equiprobable visual Go/Nogo task. The global field power (GFP) as well as the mean amplitudes in the P3 time frame were compared between groups. Additionally, the potential maps of the groups were investigated visually in the N2 and P3 time windows.Results: The groups differed significantly in the right frontal area especially in the Nogo condition Conclusions: The CWS show atypical brain activation compared to the TDC in a Go/Nogo task as indexed by the excessive N2-related activity in both conditions and reduced P3-related activity in Nogo condition.Significance: These findings indicate atypical stimulus evaluation and response inhibition processes in CWS.