Publication year: 2011
Source: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 30 July 2011
Frédérique J., Liégeois , Angela T., Morgan
Current models of speech production in adults emphasize the crucial role played by the left perisylvian cortex, primary and pre-motor cortices, the basal ganglia, and the cerebellum for normal speech production. Whether similar brain-behaviour relationships and leftward cortical dominance are found in childhood remains unclear. Here we reviewed recent evidence linking motor speech disorders (apraxia of speech and dysarthria) and brain abnormalities in children and adolescents with developmental, progressive, or childhood-acquired conditions. We found no evidence that unilateral damage can result in apraxia of speech, or that left hemisphere lesions are more likely to result in dysarthria than lesion to…
Highlights: ? We reviewed the evidence linking childhood speech disorders and brain abnormalities ? The brain basis for speech production in children and adults overlaps ? The potential for brain plasticity however differs between adults and children ? In children, unilateral lesions are not sufficient to result in speech disorders ? Longterm severe speech disorders mainly arise from bilateral brain dysfunction