"Structurno-functionalniye, Neyrokchimicheskiye e Immunokchimicheskiye Zaconomernosty Asymmetrii e Plastichnosty Mozga" (Materials of the Neurology Research Center conference), pp 166-169, Moscow, Russia.

Basal Ganglia and stuttering.

Nabieva T.N.

Brain Research Department, Scientific Center

of Neurology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences,

105064, per. Obukha 5, Moscow, Russia.

Basal ganglia (BG) and thalamo-cortical motor circuit have a key position in mechanisms of motor disturbances. Striatum and pallidum, together with substantia nigra and subthalamic nuclei are including in several cortical-subcortical circuits realizing motor control. It is experimentally confirmed, that motor disturbances are connected with BG dysfunction, and BG are involving in facilitation of desired and suppression of competitive motor programs. That's why BG dysfunction manifests itself in increasing the number of involuntary movements (IMs). With the purpose of estimation of IMs number and possible participation of BG in stuttering pathophysiology, 10 stuttering and 10 fluent children (age 7-8): 1) silently listened a fairy tale during 3 minute, and 2) retell the tale during 3 minutes. At the time of listening and speech we registered presence, quantity and characteristics of IMs. 1) 2) During the listening and speech fluent children demonstrate a little and appreciatively equal amount of simple movements. 1) During silent listening stutterers together with simple movements demonstrate sometimes simple ticks; they produced more IMs than controls (33 vs 5, p<0.001). 2) During the speech children who stuttered developed simple movements, both simple and complex motor tics. Common number of the IMs depended of stuttering severity and was more frequent in those who stuttered (61 vs 31, p<0.05) as compared with controls. Presence and characteristics of IMs support the presumption about common pathophysiology of stuttering and ticks, and its immediate connections with basal ganglia dysfunction.