Researchers have “used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the brain bases for nonword repetition challenges in autism.” Nonword repetition, or the ability to repeat sounds not associated with a meaning-laden word, is “a common clinical measure of phonological working memory.” Also employing “Multivoxel pattern analysis within the speech production network,” researchers found that their “findings suggest that atypical function in speech production brain regions may contribute to nonword repetition difficulties in autism.”

Find “Altered engagement of the speech motor network is associated with reduced phonological working memory in autism” and the full list of authors in NeuroImage: Clinical.