Presentation
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Speech-specific or domain general timing in stuttering
Poster E61 in Poster Session E, Thursday, October 26, 10:15 am - 12:00 pm CEST, Espace Vieux-Port
Emily Garnett1, Frank Dolecki2, Nicholas Mularoni1, Bailey Rann2, Toni Smith2, Soo-Eun Chang1, J. Devin McAuley2; 1University of Michigan, 2Michigan State University
A shared neural architecture supports fine-grained control of internally timed and precise motor movements required for speech production. This subcortical-cortical network also supports speech perception and overlaps with a rhythm processing network. Previous studies show correlations between performance on rhythm tasks and speech/language tasks, and short-term rhythm-based interventions have been linked to improved performance on language measures in typically developing children (see Fiveash et al., 2021; Ladányi et al., 2020; Nayak et al., 2022). Most studies focused on either perception or production tasks, or speech versus nonspeech tasks; however, little research has comprehensively examined speech and non-speech timing in the same individuals. Here we measure performance on speech versus nonspeech synchronization and rhythm tasks, in both production and perceptual domains, in adults without speech/language disorders. Establishing potential relationships between these measures can serve as a baseline for comparing with adults who stutter (AWS). Atypical rhythm has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders affecting speech and language (dyslexia, developmental language disorder, stuttering). Stuttering is hypothesized to involve deficits related to speech motor coordination, initiating motor programs to produce fluent speech, and/or a more generalized timing deficit. AWS exhibit atypical performance relative to controls in speech timing tasks (e.g., timing of speech onsets, articulator coordination, responses to auditory feedback perturbation) as well as nonspeech tasks (e.g., auditory rhythm discrimination [Garnett et al., 2023], tapping-to-tones tasks, e.g., synchronizing finger taps with isochronous tones and then continue tapping at the same pace when the tones stop). Therefore, a secondary purpose of this study was to address an open question as to whether timing deficits in stuttering are specific to speech or represent a domain general timing deficit by collecting the same data in AWS. Thirty-seven typical adults (13F; ages 18-43 years) and 9 AWS (5F; ages 20-48 years) completed the following tasks across two visits: 1) speech-to-speech synchronization, 2) synchronize-continue tapping (tapping-to-tones) at four different tempos, 3) two rhythm discrimination tasks, and 4) a measure of working memory. For controls, phase-locking values (PLVs) for speech-to-speech synchronization were positively correlated with tapping-to-tones synchronization, r(35) = 0.36, p = 0.03. Rhythm discrimination measures were positively correlated with both speech-to-speech synchronization, r(35) = 0.48, p = 0.002, and tapping-to-tones synchronization, r(35) = 0.47, p = 0.004. Operation span was not significantly correlated with any perception or production measures (all p’s > 0.05). Preliminary results for AWS show a marginally significant correlation between non-speech perception and production measures, r(7) = 0.66, p = 0.05, but no relation between speech-to-speech synchronization and either the non-speech rhythm perception (r(7) = 0.28, p = 0.46) or production measures (r(7) = 0.50, p = 0.17). Data collection is ongoing, particularly for AWS. For controls, robust correlations between speech and non-speech rhythm perception and production measures support a shared general timing mechanism for speech and non-speech timing in perception and action. Results from the AWS group are expected to clarify if purported timing deficits in stuttering are domain general or limited to speech, which may have implications for rhythm-based treatments for developmental stuttering.
Topic Areas: Disorders: Developmental, Speech Motor Control