Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports

, Volume 10, Issue 6, pp 491–498 | Cite as

Neurogenic Stuttering: Its Reticular Modulation

Article

Abstract

Emerging neurologic evidence has suggested that developmental and acquired stuttering may have a cerebral base. Investigations have revealed compensatory activation in the right cortical motor areas and deactivation in the left perisylvian region in subjects with persistent developmental stuttering. The evidence has also implicated limbic (cingulate)-basal ganglia regions. Increased speech fluency with treatment in such subjects eliminated compensatory brain activity and shifted activation back to the left hemisphere. We assess the neurology of stuttering and then present our own observations of deep brain stimulation of the thalamus with some ameliorating effect on the encompassing syndrome with speech dysfluency.

Keywords

Acquired speech dysfluency Basal ganglia Centromedianum Facial dyskinesia Thalamocortical system Mesothalamic-reticular system Persistent developmental stuttering 

Notes

Acknowledgment

We thank Linda Helen, Elizabeth Kelley, and Bridget Zmotek for their assistance.

Disclosure

No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Speech Pathology and AudiologyMarquette UniversityMilwaukeeUSA
  2. 2.Communication Sciences & DisordersLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeUSA

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