Auditory prediction and error evaluation in the speech of individuals who stutter

项目总结/摘要 口吃是一种语言流畅性障碍，对5-8%的儿童的沟通能力产生负面影响。 1%的成年人。口吃还限制了个人的学术职业成就和社会- 心理健康不幸的是，现有的口吃治疗与相当多的个体相关。 结果的变化，在某些情况下，完全无效。此外，现有的治疗方法需要 许多会议，有些容易复发高达70%，导致昂贵的解决方案，有限的 无障碍环境，特别是对社会经济背景较低的个人。发展的主要障碍 有效的口吃治疗是我们对口吃背后的特定神经过程的不完全理解。 口吃的行为方面。有一个关键的需要，以（1）确定有缺陷的神经过程， 口吃，（2）确定他们的功能贡献，在言语流畅性故障，（3）发展神经 和行为干预，专门针对有缺陷的过程，从而促进流畅性， 口吃的人。目前的言语理论认为，当大脑准备言语动作时，它会使用它的 预测，以准备更有效和准确的语音监测的感觉系统。这些预测 感觉运动过程及其与错误检测过程的相互作用对流利的言语至关重要 生产这个项目的总体目标是阐明预测感觉运动过程在大脑中的作用。 口吃儿童和成人的言语流畅性的分析。我们将使用行为分析来解决这个问题。 以及结合神经刺激技术的神经生理学记录。我们的核心假设是， 口吃与预测感觉运动过程的缺陷有关，导致不准确的预测。目的 1将评估暴露于听觉错误对预测感觉运动过程的个体的影响， 在生命周期中断断续续。目标2将描述预测和听觉反馈的时间对齐， 延迟听觉反馈或言语起始。目标3将决定演讲的功能贡献 运动前皮层在预测感觉运动过程中的作用。总的来说，这种机制的预期结果 一项研究计划是对口吃预测过程中的缺陷进行详细的神经发育描述 在整个生命周期中。该项目的结果将产生关键的积极影响，因为（1）它们将形成 一个强大的科学基础，为口吃开发神经和行为干预，（2）他们将 对口吃和言语产生的理论有着重要的意义。

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Stuttering is a speech fluency disorder that negatively impacts the communicative abilities of 5–8% of children and 1% of adults. Stuttering also limits the individual’s academic-occupational achievement and social- psychological wellbeing. Unfortunately, existing stuttering treatments are associated with considerable individual variation in their outcomes, and in some cases, are entirely ineffective. Additionally, existing treatments require many sessions, and some are susceptible to as much as 70% relapse, leading to costly solutions with limited accessibility, especially for individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. A major barrier to developing effective stuttering treatments is our incomplete understanding of the specific neural processes underlying the behavioral aspects of stuttering. There is a critical need to (1) identify the deficient neural processes underlying stuttering, (2) determine their functional contributions to breakdowns in speech fluency, and (3) develop neural and behavioral interventions that specifically target the deficient processes, and thus, promote fluency in individuals who stutter. Current speech theories posit that as the brain prepares speech movements, it uses its predictions to prepare the sensory systems for more efficient and accurate speech monitoring. These predictive sensorimotor processes and their interplay with error-detection processes are critical for fluent speech production. This project’s overall objective is to elucidate the role of predictive sensorimotor processes in the breakdowns of speech fluency in children and adults who stutter. We will address this question using behavioral and neurophysiological recordings combined with neurostimulation techniques. Our central hypothesis is that stuttering is associated with deficits in predictive sensorimotor processes, leading to inaccurate predictions. Aim 1 will evaluate the effects of exposure to auditory errors on predictive sensorimotor processes of individuals who stutter across the lifespan. Aim 2 will characterize the temporal alignment of prediction and auditory feedback by delaying auditory feedback or speech initiation. Aim 3 will determine the functional contributions of the speech premotor cortex in predictive sensorimotor processes. Overall, the expected outcome of this mechanistic research program is a detailed neuro-developmental account of deficits in predictive processes of stuttering individuals across the lifespan. This project’s results will have a critical positive impact because (1) they will form a robust scientific foundation for developing neural and behavioral interventions for stuttering, and (2) they will have significant implications for theories of stuttering and speech production.