Speech Motor Development in Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Generating Testable Hypotheses by Neurocomputational Modeling

Abstract

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a highly controversial clinical entity, with respect to both clinical signs and underlying neuromotor deficit. In the current paper, we advocate a modeling approach in which a computational neural model of speech acquisition and production is utilized in order to find the neuromotor deficits that underlie the diversity of phonological and speech-motor symptoms of CAS. Based on existing approaches and behavioral data, we first generated specific hypotheses about the underlying deficits. These hypotheses were then tested in a series of computer simulations, and the resulting speech patterns were compared to the available behavioral data. Finally, the model was used to derive further predictions that can be tested empirically in behavioral experiments and possible new angles for clinical intervention.