Scientists gain crucial insights into cause of stuttering
December 12, 2017
One percent of adults and five percent of children are unable to achieve what most of us take for granted--speaking fluently. Instead, they struggle with words, often repeating the beginning of a word, for example "G-g-g-g-g-ood morning" or get stuck with single sounds, such as "Ja" for "January" although they know exactly what they want to say.
What processes in the brain cause people to stutter? Previous studies showed imbalanced activity of the two brain hemispheres in people who stutter compared to fluent speakers: A region in the left frontal brain is hypoactive, whereas the corresponding region in the right hemisphere is hyperactive. However, the cause of this imbalance is unclear. Does the less active left hemisphere reflect a dysfunction and causes the right side to compensate for this failure? Or is it the other way around and the hyperactive right hemisphere suppresses activity in the left hemisphere and is therefore the real cause of stuttering?
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20171212/Scientists-gain-crucial-insights-into-cause-of-stuttering.aspx
