Stuttering: an investigation into cerebral dominance for speech

Abstract

SUMMARY Over the past decade research has suggested that stutterers have bilateral cerebral motor or auditory speech areas. Three typical adult stutterers showed normal unilateral left cerebral dominance for speech on the intracarotid sodium amylobarbitone (amytal) test, but one 'dysphatic' stutterer had bilateral cortical speech representation. The latter is a very rare finding in right handed individuals and presumably is a consequence of the head injury induced aphasia that preceded the onset of stuttering.Some 40o of children stutter, and while most subsequently remit, stuttering persists in about

Stuttering: a dynamic motor control disorder

“…Another study, however, found that speech was disrupted on the right side only in a patient who had previously had brain injury and aphasia as well as stuttering. The other persons with idiopathic stuttering, only had speech disruption with amytal infusion on the left side, similar to normal (Andrews, Quinn, & Sorby, 1972). Similarly, a study of three PWS without brain injury found all had left hemisphere dominance for speech on WADA testing (Luessenhop, Boggs, LaBorwit, & Walle, 1973).…”

Functional brain activation differences in stuttering identified with a rapid fMRI sequence

“…It is consistent with the long-standing suggestion that right hemisphere functional lateralization may be a compensatory mechanism (Braun et al, 1997) that prompts a neuroplastic reorganization of language activity. Other researchers have proposed that right hemisphere involvement interferes with speech fluency pathways and may be a cause of stuttering (Andrews, Quinn, & Sorby, 1972; Webster, 1990). “In the adult system it may be difficult to distinguish between mechanisms responsible for stuttering and those developed to compensate” (Ludlow, 2000).…”

Transient neurogenic stuttering

“…Stuttering is a common condition, especially the developmental form, which can have a prevalence of 1% in the adult population (Andrews, Quinn, & Sorby, 1972). Devel-opmental stuttering almost always begins in childhood or early adolescence, and it is much more common in males.…”