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Bilateral volume reduction in the caudate nucleus has been established as a prominent brain abnormality associated with a FOXP2 mutation in affected members of the 'KE family', who present with developmental orofacial and verbal dyspraxia in conjunction with pervasive language deficits. Despite the gene's early and prominent expression in the cerebellum and the evidence for reciprocal cerebellum-basal ganglia connectivity, very little is known about cerebellar abnormalities in affected KE members. Using cerebellum-specific voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and volumetry, we provide converging evidence from subsets of affected KE members scanned at three time points for grey matter (GM) volume reduction bilaterally in neocerebellar lobule VIIa Crus I compared with unaffected members and unrelated controls. We also show that right Crus I volume correlates with left and total caudate nucleus volumes in affected KE members, and that right and total Crus I volumes predict the performance of affected members in non-word repetition and non-verbal orofacial praxis. Crus I also shows bilateral hypo-activation in functional MRI in the affected KE members relative to controls during non-word repetition. The association of Crus I with key aspects of the behavioural phenotype of this FOXP2 point mutation is consistent with recent evidence of cerebellar involvement in complex motor sequencing. For the first time, specific cerebello-basal ganglia loops are implicated in the execution of complex oromotor sequences needed for human speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a personal exploration of one woman's lived experience with aphasia, verbal dyspraxia and accent change following cryptogenic ischaemic stroke. I share insights into my experiences, especially of an emotional and cultural nature, after growing up multilingual in Europe and then living with communication changes in a predominantly English-speaking country (Australia) and following return to Europe. My formal reflections commenced 15 years after the stroke and, following my previous studies in the medical field, multimodal visual arts and philosophy, were initiated in the context of postgraduate study emphasising a multimodal arts-based, collaborative, experiential approach to reconstructing understandings of experiences, values and meanings. Central features of this personal narrative include emergent, iterative enquiry and learning: emergent, in that the enquiry was open-ended, allowing for an element of surprise and the opportunity to pursue unanticipated directions; iterative, in that it involved knowingly experiencing and conversing about what had been discovered in order to engage with the process of continuous meaning-making. Following the enquiry, fellow students provided intersubjective responses to issues that touched personal reflection on their part. In particular, I highlight one fellow student's intersubjective responses that touched me in return by providing especially pertinent understanding and images. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes the use of a combination of intra-oral sensory stimulation and electropalatography (EPG) in the treatment of a case with severe developmental verbal dyspraxia. A multiple-baseline design was used. The treatment duration was 11 months and started when the subject was 5 years old. The efficacy of the treatment was assessed by calculations of percentage of correctly articulated words, percentage of consonants correct, percentage of phonemes correct and percentage of words correct. Intelligibility assessments were conducted by both naïve and expert listeners. The experts also assessed visual deviances in articulatory gestures from video recordings. Qualitative analysis of EPG data was made. The subject's speech was significantly improved by the treatment in all aspects. The results and their generalization to other cases of developmental verbal dyspraxia are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cortical speech disorders rarely occur in multiple sclerosis (MS). We report a patient with relapsing-remitting MS, who presented with acute verbal dyspraxia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated an acute T2/Flair hyperintense, primarily white matter lesion underlying the middle third of the inferior frontal gyrus. The verbal dyspraxia cleared beginning 48 hours after the initiation of iv dexamethasone. Follow-up MRI demonstrated qualitative and quantitative diminution of the hyperintensity. This is the first report of a clinically definite MS patient with acute verbal dyspraxia. Moreover,there was a suggestive localization of verbal praxis to Brodmann areas 44/45. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]