Speech and Language Neurobiology
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Centre of research excellence in Speech and Language Neurobiology (CRE-SLANG)
IRAS ID
232123
Contact name
Frederique Liegeois
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Children have a great capacity to learn new skills, such as how to speak and learn the language of those around them. Mastering those skills and learning new ones is crucial for them to go on to live independently and integrate socially. However, young people with developmental speech-language disorders particularly struggle with learning the speech and language skills important for the basic human need for communication with others.
Speech disorders affect a person’s ability to make the correct speech sounds of their language, which can mean they have difficulty being understood by others. Language disorders may affect a person’s ability to use language to express themselves (expressive language disorder) and/or understand what others are saying (receptive language disorder).
Developmental speech-language disorders typically begin between two and five years of age. Many children will grow out of it, but others will go on to have a persistent speech-language disorder.
We think developmental speech-language disorders could arise from genetic changes and atypical development of connections (“wiring”) in the brain. New genetic techniques have been developed which help us to search for genes related to speech-language difficulty (i) in families where several members have the disorder, and (ii) in individuals where we think that the speech disorder may have a genetic basis (e.g., in severe and persistent speech disorder), even though no other family member has a disorder. Recently developed MRI brain scans also now allow us to map connections important for speech and language skills.
We hope that by working with children and families with a speech-language disorder that the brain basis and genetics of speech-language impairment will become clearer. We will learn more about what causes someone to have communication problems, be able to identify people who are at high risk of speech-language disorder, and develop better treatments.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/YH/0257
Date of REC Opinion
31 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion