A crucial role for the cortico-striato-cortical loop in the pathogenesis of stroke-related neurogenic stuttering

Abstract

Neurogenic stuttering is an acquired speech disorder characterized by the occurrence of stuttering-like dysfluencies following brain damage. Because the onset of stuttering in these patients is associated with brain lesions, this condition provides a unique opportunity to study the neural processes underlying speech dysfluencies. Lesion localizations of 20 stroke subjects with neurogenic stuttering and 17 control subjects were compared using voxel-based lesion symptom mapping. The results showed nine left-hemisphere areas associated with the presence of neurogenic stuttering. These areas were largely overlapping with the cortico-basal ganglia-cortical network comprising the inferior frontal ..