Sequence skill learning in persons who stutter: Implications for cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical dysfunction

Altered effective connectivity and anomalous anatomy in the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit of stuttering speakers

“…In contrast, the projection from the basal ganglia-thalamus to the preSMA adjusts the latter's function as it receives convergent input from the entire cerebral cortex (Parent, 1996). This adjustment function seems to be impaired in stuttering speakers (Blomgren and Goberman, 2008;Namasivayam and van Lieshout, 2008;Smits-Bandstra and De Nil, 2007).…”

“…The putamen is a part of the basal ganglia that is especially relevant to motor control. Many researchers have suspected an abnormal communication between the basal ganglia and the cerebral cortex for stuttering speakers (Smits-Bandstra and De Nil, 2007;Watkins et al, 2008). We will further discuss this issue in the connectivity section.…”

Genetic and environmental effects on stuttering: A twin study from Finland

“…There is also evidence as how a brain injury in the basal ganglia can cause stuttering for adults (Tani & Sakai, 2011). According to the review by Smits-Bandstra and De Nil (2007) dysfunction in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical connections can cause difficulties in sequence learning and automatization and be one of the etiological components in the development of stuttering.…”

The relationship between mental health disorders and treatment outcomes among adults who stutter

“…It is currently thought to be due to a deficit or inefficiency in the neural processing underpinning the production of spoken language, possibly involving the basal ganglia (Alm, 2004;Smits-Bandstra & De Nil, 2007) and resulting in difficulty initiating syllables (Packman, Code, & Onslow, 2007).…”