Recent evidence suggests that a shared neurocomputational mechanism tracks the temporal structure of auditory input and speech output. We investigate the link between speech production and rhythmic abilities in 24 healthy controls and 23 patients with primary progressive aphasia, including 12 non-fluent variant patients (NFV) with apraxia of speech. Seventy-five percent of NFV cases displayed poorer rhythmic abilities. Rhythmic abilities and speech rhythm were significantly correlated in both controls and patients. Deformation-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging were used to identify white matter atrophy related to impaired rhythmic abilities in NFV. Left frontal white matter volume adjacent to the supplementary motor area (SMA) correlated with rhythmic abilities. Metrics of the left Aslant tract, which is typically damaged in NFV cases, also correlated with rhythmic abilities. Our results support the existence of a common temporal scaffolding mechanism structuring perceptual input and speech output. This mechanism partly explains abnormal speech in NFV.

中文翻译：

---

左额叶白质与语音产生相关的节律处理有关

最近的证据表明，一种共享的神经计算机制可追踪听觉输入和语音输出的时间结构。我们调查了24名健康对照者和23名原发性进行性失语症患者（包括12名患有语言失用的非流利变异患者（NFV））的言语产生和心律能力之间的联系。百分之七十五的NFV病例显示出较差的心律能力。在对照组和患者中，节律能力和言语节律均显着相关。基于变形的形态计量学和扩散张量成像被用于识别与NFV的节律能力受损有关的白质萎缩。左额白质体积与运动能力相关，与补充运动区（SMA）相邻。左斜道的指标，通常在NFV病例中受损，也与节奏能力相关。我们的研究结果支持存在一种构造感官输入和语音输出的常见时空支架机制。该机制部分解释了NFV中的异常语音。