# The role of the cerebellum in speech

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $620,518

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This proposal investigates the role of the cerebellum in speech, building upon theoretical models and
experimental methods that have proven useful in understanding cerebellar function in reaching and walking.
Neuroimaging and lesion studies have provided compelling evidence that the cerebellum is an integral part of
the speech production network, though its precise role in the control of speech remains unclear. Furthermore,
damage to the cerebellum (either degenerative or focal) can lead to ataxic dysarthria, a motor speech disorder
characterized, in part, by impaired articulation and severe temporal deficits. This grant seeks to bridge the gap
between theoretical models of cerebellar function and the speech symptoms associated with ataxic dysarthria.
Two mechanisms underlie speech motor control – feedback and feedforward control. In feedback control,
speakers use sensory feedback (e.g., of their own voice) to control their speech. In feedforward control,
speakers use knowledge gained from their past speech productions, rather than on-line feedback, to control
their speech. This proposal entails a systematic plan to elucidate the role of the cerebellum in feedforward and
feedback control of speech. A central hypothesis is that the cerebellum is especially critical in the feedforward
control of speech, but has little involvement in feedback control. To explore this hypothesis, we will obtain
converging evidence from three innovative methodologies: 1) Neuropsychological studies of speech-motor
responses to real-time altered auditory feedback in patients with cerebellar atrophy (CA) and matched healthy
controls, 2) Parallel studies in healthy controls undergoing theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation to
create “virtual lesions” of the cerebellum, and 3) Structural and functional studies in CA patients to examine the
relationship between cerebellar lesion location, dysarthria symptoms, and feedforward and feedback control
ability.
 Speech provides an important opportunity to examine how well current theories of cerebellar function
generalize to a novel effector (vocal tract) and sensory (auditory) domain. Its’ purpose for communication
imposes exacting spectro-temporal constraints not seen in other motor domains. Furthermore, the distinctive
balance of feedback and feedforward control in speech allows us to examine changes in both control types
subsequent to cerebellar damage. Critically, this is the first work examining the link between theoretically-
motivated control deficits in CA patients and the speech symptoms associated with ataxic dysarthria, as well as
their neural correlates.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9841933
- **Project number:** 5R01DC017091-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** John Francis Houde
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $620,518
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-12-25 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9841933

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9841933, The role of the cerebellum in speech (5R01DC017091-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9841933. Licensed CC0.

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