Altered engagement of the speech motor network is associated with reduced phonological working memory in autism
Date
2023
Authors
O'Brien, Amanda M.
Perrachione, Tyler K.
Wisman Weil, Lisa
Sanchez Araujo, Yoel
Halverson, Kelly
Harris, Adrianne
Ostrovskaya, Irina
Kjelgaard, Margaret
Kenneth Wexler
Tager-Flusberg, Helen
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
A.M. O'Brien, T.K. Perrachione, L. Wisman Weil, Y. Sanchez Araujo, K. Halverson, A. Harris, I. Ostrovskaya, M. Kjelgaard, Kenneth Wexler, H. Tager-Flusberg, J.D.E. Gabrieli, Z. Qi. 2023. "Altered engagement of the speech motor network is associated with reduced phonological working memory in autism." NeuroImage: Clinical, Volume 37, pp.103299-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103299
Abstract
Nonword repetition, a common clinical measure of phonological working memory, involves component processes of speech perception, working memory, and speech production. Autistic children often show behavioral challenges in nonword repetition, as do many individuals with communication disorders. It is unknown which subprocesses of phonological working memory are vulnerable in autistic individuals, and whether the same brain processes underlie the transdiagnostic difficulty with nonword repetition. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the brain bases for nonword repetition challenges in autism. We compared activation during nonword repetition in functional brain networks subserving speech perception, working memory, and speech production between neurotypical and autistic children. Autistic children performed worse than neurotypical children on nonword repetition and had reduced activation in response to increasing phonological working memory load in the supplementary motor area. Multivoxel pattern analysis within the speech production network classified shorter vs longer nonword-repetition trials less accurately for autistic than neurotypical children. These speech production motor-specific differences were not observed in a group of children with reading disability who had similarly reduced nonword repetition behavior. These findings suggest that atypical function in speech production brain regions may contribute to nonword repetition difficulties in autism.
Description
License
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND licence.