Reproducing speech intervals in the sub-hundred millisecond (ms) range with a translocation in 7q31

Report

There is increasing evidence that mutations in the transcription factor FOXP2 impairs sensorimotor responses at the brain level.

How some gene interactions produce afferentefferent circuits involving gabaergic and glutamergic populations of cells in different parts of the CNS is unclear. It is known that FOXP2 is expressed in a sensorimotor dopaminergic circuit, comprising the striatum, thalamus, deep cerebral cortical layers, the inferior olive and Purkinje cells of the cerebellum.

Here we focus on a case of a subject A with speech and language disorders who has a chromosomal translocation t[7;11] affecting 7q31, the locus of FOXP2.

Since there is substantial evidence that the neural basis for interval timing of fast movement changes, crucial for speech and language, may be regulated by these sensorimotor dopaminergic circuits, we focus here on how interval timing in the ms range is reproduced by A compared to the tutor, and a control C matched for sex, age, languages and education.

It is found that A reproduces non-word sequences with significantly fewer dynamic changes than C. We discuss these findings relating them to the debatable hypothesis that the cerebellum may be more involved in the perception and production of sub-second intervals.

Authors: Garcia-Bellido, P

• Alternative title: 4th Annual Oxford Neuroscience Symposium, March 20, 2013
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Not peer reviewed
• Edition: Publisher's version
• Language: English
• Keywords: language disorder; FOXP2; gene disorder
• Subjects: Clinical genetics; Medical Sciences; Genetics (life sciences); Bioinformatics (life sciences)