Many investigations, particularly in children with speech and language impairments, have highlighted the motor nature of speech. Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), for example, show both speech-motor and generalized motor abnormalities (DiDonato Brumbach & Goffman, 2014). The connection between fine motor control and speech functions is likely mediated by brain lateralized networks in the left hemisphere that support both speech production and fine motor control of the right hand (Gonzalez et al., 2014). The goal of this study is to examine the interaction between speech production and motor skills in individuals with different hand preference. Thirty-four undergrad students (15 left-handers) participated in a study in which they were asked to perform a variety of speech and manual tasks. The speech tasks include a picture naming task, a diadochokinetic (DDK) task, and a tongue twister task. The motor tasks involve building a Lego brick model and the Peabody Pegboard Test (Desrosiers etal., 1995). Participants' speech and actions were recorded and the audio and videos were acoustically and perceptually analyzed. Preliminary analysis revealed a positive relationship between people’s Pegboard performance using their right hand and their DDK performance as well as a negative relationship between Lego building time and tongue twister error rate, again only when people using their right hand. The results indicate the complex relationship between speech articulation, fine manual movement control, and handedness.
Honarvari et al. (Wed,) studied this question.