A strange cause of speech disorders in children

A strange cause of speech disorders in children

The extremely common developmental language disorder DLD affects approximately two children in each classroom. Children with DLD struggle to understand and use their mother tongue. They also have problems with grammar, vocabulary and conducting conversations.

Their language difficulties greatly increase their risk of experiencing difficulties when learning to read, lack of academic achievement, and in many cases they are unemployed and unable to meet social and mental health challenges, according to what Neuroscience News published, citing research published in the journal eLife.

Myelin

Dr Saloni Krishnan and colleagues at the University of Oxford used MRI brain scans that were particularly sensitive to different properties of brain tissue. The scans measured, for example, the amount of myelin and iron in the brain. Myelin, a fatty substance that wraps around nerve cells and speeds up signal transmission between brain regions, is a similar insulation system to the insulation around electrical cables.

The results of the research showed that children with DLD had less myelin in the parts of the brain responsible for acquiring rules and habits, as well as those responsible for producing and understanding language. “DLD is a relatively unknown and understudied condition, unlike well-known neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, or autism; This is why the study is an important first step in understanding the brain mechanisms (that cause this) disorder.”

new treatments

"This type of examination tells us more about the structure or composition of brain tissue in different regions," said study lead author Dr Kate Watkins, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Oxford. The results could help to understand the pathways involved at a biological level and ultimately allow us to explain why affected children have problems learning language.”

More studies are needed to determine if these brain differences cause language problems and how or if language difficulties can cause these brain changes, which could help additional scientific research find new treatments targeting these brain differences.