Rightward hemispheric asymmetries in auditory language cortex in children with autistic disorder: an MRI investigation

Purpose: determine if language disorder in children with autistic disorder (AD) corresponds to abnormalities in hemispheric asymmetries in auditory language cortex. Methods: MRI morphometric study in children with AD (n = 50) to assess hemispheric asymmetries in auditory language cortex. A key region of interest was the planum temporale (PT), which is larger in the left hemisphere in most healthy individuals. Results: (i) Heschl’s gyrus and planum polare showed typical hemisphere asymmetry patterns; (ii) posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus (pSTG) showed significant rightward asymmetry; and (iii) PT showed a trend for rightward asymmetry that was significant when constrained to right-handed boys (n = 30). For right-handed boys, symmetry indices for pSTG were significantly positively correlated with those for PT. PT asymmetry was age dependent, with greater rightward asymmetry with age. Conclusions: results provide evidence for rightward asymmetry in auditory association areas (pSTG and PT) known to subserve language processing. Cumulatively, our data provide evidence for a differing maturational path for PT for lower functioning children with AD, with both pre- and post-natal experience likely playing a role in PT asymmetry

The Neuroanatomy of Speech Sequencing at the Syllable Level

Correctly ordering a sequence of speech sounds is a crucial aspect of speech production. Although studies have yielded a rich body of data on the neural substrates of visuomotor sequencing and sequence learning, research on brain regions and their functions involving speech sequence production hasn’t attracted much attention until recently. Previous functional MRI studies manipulating the complexity of sequences at the phonemic, syllabic, and suprasyllabic levels have revealed a network of motor-related cortical and sub-cortical speech regions. In this study, we directly compared human brain activity measured with functional MRI during processing of a sequence of syllables compared with the same syllables processed individually. Among a network of regions independently identified as being part of the sensorimotor circuits for speech production, only the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercularis, lIFG), the supplementary motor area (SMA), and the left inferior parietal lobe (lIPL) responded more during the production of syllable sequences compared to producing the same syllables articulated one at a time

The neuroanatomy of speech sequencing at the syllable level.

Correctly ordering a sequence of speech sounds is a crucial aspect of speech production. Although studies have yielded a rich body of data on the neural substrates of visuomotor sequencing and sequence learning, research on brain regions and their functions involving speech sequence production hasn't attracted much attention until recently. Previous functional MRI studies manipulating the complexity of sequences at the phonemic, syllabic, and suprasyllabic levels have revealed a network of motor-related cortical and sub-cortical speech regions. In this study, we directly compared human brain activity measured with functional MRI during processing of a sequence of syllables compared with the same syllables processed individually. Among a network of regions independently identified as being part of the sensorimotor circuits for speech production, only the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercularis, lIFG), the supplementary motor area (SMA), and the left inferior parietal lobe (lIPL) responded more during the production of syllable sequences compared to producing the same syllables articulated one at a time

The Neuroanatomy of Speech Sequencing at the Syllable Level

Correctly ordering a sequence of speech sounds is a crucial aspect of speech production. Although studies have yielded a rich body of data on the neural substrates of visuomotor sequencing and sequence learning, research on brain regions and their functions involving speech sequence production hasn’t attracted much attention until recently. Previous functional MRI studies manipulating the complexity of sequences at the phonemic, syllabic, and suprasyllabic levels have revealed a network of motor-related cortical and sub-cortical speech regions. In this study, we directly compared human brain activity measured with functional MRI during processing of a sequence of syllables compared with the same syllables processed individually. Among a network of regions independently identified as being part of the sensorimotor circuits for speech production, only the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercularis, lIFG), the supplementary motor area (SMA), and the left inferior parietal lobe (lIPL) responded more during the production of syllable sequences compared to producing the same syllables articulated one at a time

Functionally Distinct Regions for Spatial Processing and Sensory Motor Integration in the Planum Temporale

Abstract: There has been much debate recently over the functional role played by the planum temporale (PT) within the context of the dorsal auditory processing stream. Some studies indicate that regions in the PT support spatial hearing and other auditory functions, whereas others demonstrate sensory-motor response properties. This multifunctionality has led to the claim that the PT is performing a common computational pattern matching operation, then routing the signals (spatial, object, sensory-motor) into an appropriate processing stream. An alternative possibility is that the PT is functionally subdivided with separate regions supporting various functions. We assess this possibility using a within subject fMRI block design. DTI data were also collected to examine connectivity. There were four auditory conditions: stationary noise, moving noise, listening to pseudowords, and shadowing pseudowords (covert repetition). Contrasting the shadow and listen conditions should activate regions specific to sensory-motor processes, while contrasting the stationary and moving noise conditions should activate regions involved in spatial hearing. Subjects (N ¼ 16) showed greater activation for shadowing in left posterior PT, area Spt, when the shadow and listen conditions were contrasted. The motion vs. stationary noise contrast revealed greater activation in a more medial and anterior portion of left PT. Seeds from these two contrasts were then used to guide the DTI analysis in an examination of connectivity via streamline tractography, which revealed different patterns of connectivity. Findings support a heterogeneous model of the PT, with functionally distinct regions for sensory-motor integration and processes involved in auditory spatial perception

Rightward hemispheric asymmetries in auditory language cortex in children with autistic disorder: an MRI investigation

Purpose: determine if language disorder in children with autistic disorder (AD) corresponds to abnormalities in hemispheric asymmetries in auditory language cortex. Methods: MRI morphometric study in children with AD (n = 50) to assess hemispheric asymmetries in auditory language cortex. A key region of interest was the planum temporale (PT), which is larger in the left hemisphere in most healthy individuals. Results: (i) Heschl’s gyrus and planum polare showed typical hemisphere asymmetry patterns; (ii) posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus (pSTG) showed significant rightward asymmetry; and (iii) PT showed a trend for rightward asymmetry that was significant when constrained to right-handed boys (n = 30). For right-handed boys, symmetry indices for pSTG were significantly positively correlated with those for PT. PT asymmetry was age dependent, with greater rightward asymmetry with age. Conclusions: results provide evidence for rightward asymmetry in auditory association areas (pSTG and PT) known to subserve language processing. Cumulatively, our data provide evidence for a differing maturational path for PT for lower functioning children with AD, with both pre- and post-natal experience likely playing a role in PT asymmetry