Neurogenic Stuttering: Its Reticular Modulation

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.