If we all work together, we can perhaps gain new insights how to improve stuttering. I'll kick off with the first one: ***(A)*** *What are the functions of these brain areas?* *Putamen:* * Function of **Left-sided posteroventral putamen**: It's responsible for automation and internal timing for sequencing of complex motor movements of the lips and other articulators ([source](https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awae059/7667029?login=false)). The function of the Putamen: Learning and regulating motor control (preparing & execution), motor preparation, specifying amplitudes of movement, and movement sequences, including speech articulation, language functions, reward, and cognitive functioning. The function of the Striatum (putamen + caudate): Utilization of sensory cues to guide behavior - to modulate cortical auditory-motor interaction relevant to motor control. It may detect a mismatch between the current sensorimotor context and the context needed for initiating the next motor program, thus reducing its competitive advantage over competing motor programs, which in turn may lead to impaired generation of initiation signals by the basal ganglia and a concomitant stutter * **How is the putamen impaired in people who stutter**: Significantly reduced volume of the putamen in children who stutter (CWS), but in adults who stutter (AWS) increased neural activity within the basal ganglia, including the putamen and caudate nucleus. People who stutter have difficulties in detecting prediction errors, difficulties in detecting less salient changes in sensory feedback and in adapting more subtle aspects of speech motor behavior – processes that are requisite for adjusting the parameters of speech motor production. The putamen was characterized by a gray matter growth deficit in individuals with persistent stuttering in young children. This deficit subsided with age. Early gray matter deficit in the putamen might be related to a deficit in learning to pronounce long speech motor sequences. The earliest occurring neural structural difference for persistent stuttering in children was in the striatum and white matter, associated with tracts that interconnect it with multiple cortical areas including premotor regions. Striatum (putamen + caudate): In PWS, research found impairments in striatal functioning that bring about difficulties in identifying and integrating contextual information, which impacts the initiation and inhibition of motor programs during speech production.