Recurring utterances (speech automatisms) without aphasia: A single case study

Abstract

Background: Regarding the generation of recurring utterances (RUs), there are two lines of research in the literature. The first is that RUs occur in severe aphasia; that is, global aphasia or severe Broca's aphasia. The second is that RUs are a modality-specific and post-phonological speech disorder.

Aims: The aims of this paper are (1) to describe and follow up on the characteristics of non-meaningful RUs observed in a patient, AY, who had no definite aphasic symptoms, and (2) to investigate the mechanism underlying the generation of AY's RUs neurolinguistically and neuroanatomically.

Methods & Procedures: We studied and followed the language functions of AY, including her non-meaningful RUs, using the Japanese Standard Language Test for Aphasia (SLTA; Japanese Society of Aphasiology, 1977) and her conversations with her speech therapists.

Outcomes & Results: The patient was found to present non-meaningful RUs without definite aphasic symptoms. Her speech disorder evolved into pure apraxia of speech about a year after onset.

Conclusions: The results show that AY's non-meaningful RUs are a modality-specific and post-phonological speech disorder, which supports the hypothesis that RUs result from deficits in post-lexical subphonemic processing in the psycholinguistic or neurolinguistic model of speech production.

Keywords:

• Aphasia
• Recurring utterances
• Basal ganglia
• Articulatory buffer
• Evolution
• Pure apraxia of speech